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I, YflHWEH 










. 



















J, YflHWEH 


cJL DJovel in the form 
of an <Jlutobiog>iaphy 


ROBERT MUNSON GREY 

n 


1 93 7 

Willett, Clark & Company 
Chicago New York 














Copyright 1937 by 
WILLETT, CLARK & COMPANY 



Manufactured in The U. S. A. by The Plimpton Press 
Norwood, Mass.-LaPorte, Ind. 


©Cl A 1 1 5846 


APR 11 ! 938 


c Jr 




COHTEHTS 


I. Beginnings of a God i 

II. Footprint on the Moon 16 

III. Mount of Meeting 29 

IV. Conquering the Homeland 51 

V. Tutored by the Prophets 65 

INTERLUDE: Lawyers Lay Down the 
Law 97 

VI. Under Foreign Yokes 100 

VII. Angry Prayers 111 

VIII. Know Me, Galilean! 119 

IX. What Manner of Man Is This? 138 

X. I Become a Christian 149 

XI. Behold These Christians! r68 

XII. The Consecrated Sword 182 

XIII. One Throne for Three 192 

XIV. Heritage of Empire 202 

INTERLUDE: A Long Sleep 207 

XV. Awakening 210 






CONTENTS 


XVI. 

Christendom Divides 

227 

XVII. 

Jon Waye, Gentleman 

251 

XVIII. 

Mad World 

259 

XIX. 

Jazz on the Altar Stairs 

281 

XX. 

Foreshadowings of Change 

309 

XXI. 

Word of Belonging 

3i9 

XXII. 

Back to the Beginning 

342 


I YMHWEH 






AUTHOR’S NOTE 

The name Yahweh, God of the Hebrews, is 
believed by scholars to be the true form of 
the word which appears in our English 
Bible as Jehovah . It has in the Hebrew 
text, which omitted vowel sounds, the four- 
letter form YHVH. Owing to its mystical, 
sacred character, it was not pronounced by 
the Hebrews or the Jews, but the word 
Adonai, “ my Lord,” was substituted for it 
in reading aloud from the Scriptures. 
Christianity took over the Jewish concep¬ 
tion of God and endeavored to universalize 
it. The Hebrew word Yahweh was dis¬ 
placed throughout the Greek-speaking 
world by the Greek words Kurios, “ Lord,” 
or Theos, “ God.” 


BEGINNINGS OF A GOD 


1 , Yahweh, God first of the Hebrews and afterward 
of the Western world, do write, that the children of 
men may know me and the greatness of my power. 

Herein are told what things I have wrought on earth 
and what I shall yet do with the nations which serve 
me in singleness of heart and with obedient hand. 


I know not whose prayer gave rise to my being. Who, 
indeed, can remember the circumstances of his begetting? 
I recall only the mighty solitude of the world wherein first 
I found myself. 

There was a great plain which lay round about the city 
of Ur in ancient Chaldea. Thither do my earliest mem¬ 
ories return. 

On the plain great distances led the eye to the horizon 
and the mind out beyond the circle of the sky to something 
that defied the eye’s seeing, the source, perhaps, of exist¬ 
ence, throbbing with that energy which maintains the end¬ 
less modes of becoming. 






I, YAHWEH 


2 

Oft did I sense a movement about me that told, as I 
thought, of a mystic passer-by whose footfall was bright 
with the dust of stars. Though the eye could not discern 
him or the ear mete his pace, yet did his silent coming and 
going disturb both gods and men with expectancy. 

In those lonely places where this invisible majesty made 
itself most kindly felt, I, though a little god with few to 
show me reverence, knew no envy of those elder gods whose 
temples, richly adorned in Ur, were thronged with wor¬ 
shipers. 

I saw that many of the children of men who trod the 
plain were moved by the invisible presence. The solitary 
wayfarer, awed by some prompting, stopped if haply he 
found a lone tree, and spake a brief thanksgiving for its 
shade; or drank water from a brook and withheld not the 
grateful word; or was lifted up in mind as he rested on a 
high hill. “ O kindly spirit who livest in this tree,” he 
would say; or, “ Thanks be to him of the brook whose 
hand hath cleft the rock at the source of its flowing ”; or 
again, “ Blessed be he of the hills, who maketh their heights 
a defense against the stormy winds.” 

Hearing such words, I would cleave to the speaker, think¬ 
ing to read in his face that which fitly answered to the 
splendor which enwrapped the world. 

On such occasions I would see — or did I but think I 
saw? — a being, insubstantial as the air and more sprightly 
than a mote in the sunbeam, arise from the water or emerge 
from rock or tree. But if perchance I called, greatly won¬ 
dering, “ Art thou of the nature of the brook or tree, or 
comest thou wholly of man’s gratitude and desire? ” then 
would the shy spirit vanish as it had come. 

Nevertheless, whether by the upward-tending thoughts 
of men or by some power hid from my knowledge, the land 
was filled with beings who, though so frail at first, waxed 


BEGINNINGS OF A GOD 3 

strong and courageous through the continuing voice of 
prayer. 

And I was wont to say: “ Would that I were god of the 
watercourses, the uplands or the wooded places, or yet of 
the meadows where flocks and cattle graze. Would that it 
were mine to bestow the gifts of sun and rain upon the chil¬ 
dren of earth, or to ripen the grain for their harvests. Then 
would man know me for his friend, and together we might 
seek unto that mystery of being upon which, mayhap, the 
life of both man and god reclines.” 

For I clave to man. 

But nay! I did not belong among the free gods of the 
open country. My rightful dwelling was in Ur, with a 
man called Abraham, in the back part of his house where 
the bones of his fathers lay buried beneath the earthen 
floor; for I had come to be ancestral god of his household. 

In the city I found a grandeur unlike that which over¬ 
arched the plain. The Chaldeans were notable builders 
and Ur was not least among their cities. Forasmuch as it 
was the seat of Chaldea’s moon-god, its palaces and temples 
had been raised tier on tier, so that the city, viewed from 
afar, was like to a pearl hung between earth and heaven. 

Within, the streets were made narrow that the houses 
might cast a shade upon the booths of the merchantmen. 
And out of the shadow of the stalls gleamed the colors of 
silk and woolen stuffs, richly dyed, of basins and pitchers 
wrought in bronze, and cups of beaten silver. Trinkets 
also were there, of carven ivory and camel bone, and orna¬ 
ments of fine gold set with jewels. Thus, by their bright 
hues, the bazaars made amends to the street for the sunlight 
that fell not on its pavement. 

One might not number the people who thronged the 
city — artisans, herdsmen and tillers of the soil, with sol¬ 
diers not wanting who carried the authority and might of 


I, YAHWEH 


4 

Chaldea to distant lands, and judges with life and death in 
the keeping of their wisdom. 

I was moved by this majesty of wealth and power, yet I 
said, “ For all the cunning of his hand and the might of his 
arm, man hath wrought nothing answerable in worth to the 
look that is on his face when he lifts it to the sky.” 

But midway of the city rose the temples of the greater 
gods which, when I beheld how the people resorted to 
them, provoked mine envy. For I said: “ What matters it 
that a light comes anon to the countenance of man, or that 
he is enthralled by that which beckons him from beyond 
the horizon? He seeketh ever to the gods of earth who have 
wealth and power under their hands.” 

Wherefore I longed that I too might have my courts of 
sun-dried brick, mine habitations decked in onyx and tur¬ 
quoise, and priests within my walls. Yet was I overyoung 
to crave the doing of such deeds as were done in the tem¬ 
ples of Ur. I knew that the Chaldean gods were unclean 
and that I was not as they. 

And Abraham communed with me often concerning 
those matters which he thought seemly in the gods and 
their worshipers. For Abraham was righteous above the 
priests, aye, even above the chief gods. He too had been 
much upon the plain and had felt the presence that seemed 
to come and go. 

Thus do I remember Ur. 

Now there be those who say that before my Chaldean 
sojourn one like to myself had been known among the 
Kenites, that homeless people who had wandered through 
the land of Canaan when no tribe had yet taken root in 
its soil. I know not, nor care. Still am I jealous to hold in 
recollection those solitudes wherein I awoke to full aware¬ 
ness of mine own being; aye, and to solemn wonder at 


BEGINNINGS OF A GOD 5 

that primal mystery, the nameless fount of being, by which, 
as the ultimate secret, the mind of man is forever lured. 


It came to pass throughout Chaldea, in a certain evil year, 
that the rains failed after the wheat-sowing when the seed 
was but lately cast. And the great river was low because 
the waters had not fallen upon the far mountains. Where¬ 
fore the young grain, which had come up thick and green, 
could not long withstand the sun; and all the fields began 
to wither. 

When the folk who tilled the soil and they that kept 
flocks saw how it went with the land they were greatly dis¬ 
mayed and besought the priests for a reason and a remedy. 
And the priests said: 

“ Doubtless the earth-god who presideth over the growth 
of every living thing and giveth plentiful harvests when ye 
omit not his proper meed of honor is angered because of 
some neglect on your part, to punish which he hath pre¬ 
vailed upon Bel, Lord of the Air, to shut fast the chambers 
of heaven so that the clouds cannot come forth to drop their 
waters upon your sown fields. And he hath stayed the 
floods at their source, wherefore the river is shrunken be¬ 
tween its banks and the ditches are empty. If his anger be 
not speedily turned aside ye shall perish by famine and 
even we who serve in his temple shall not be able to de¬ 
liver so much as a remnant from his wrath.” 

Whereupon the husbandmen and herdsmen besought 
the priests to intercede. And they of the temple made 
answer: 

“ There is nought to do now but to appease him with a 
gift. Let lots be cast, therefore, to choose which of your 
most pleasing maidens shall be sacrificed upon his altar.” 


6 


I, YAHWEH 


Upon hearing this counsel, each one who cherished a 
virgin daughter looked upon her in the hope that she 
might prove less fair than he had been wont to think. Yet 
none dared question the word that had come forth from the 
temple. 

And it came to pass that when the most comely of the 
city’s damsels had been brought into the market place and 
stood in a ring about the priests, the lot fell upon Ana, the 
daughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. For which cause 
there was bitter grief in her father’s house, and all her 
young companions gave themselves secretly to mourning. 

Now the man Abraham had from his youth been trou¬ 
bled by the harshness of both gods and men in Ur, and, 
albeit not clearly, had questioned whether the majesty 
of the Chaldean plain might not itself testify to some god 
nearer his heart’s desire than those his people worshiped. 

Once indeed he had gone to them that ministered in the 
Temple of the Moon to inquire on this head. These had 
bidden him put aside such troublous thoughts; and they 
advised gifts lest the gods, overhearing, be angered. Yet 
after he had sacrificed his inquietude did but increase. 
Nor would the soothsayers have truck with his heresy to 
advise him. 

Wherefore, inasmuch as he was the eldest son of his 
father, he might not show discourtesy toward the god on 
the day of Ana’s sacrificing, lest the anger of the city be 
kindled against his family and the blood of them all be 
mingled with the maiden’s. Moreover, in his heart dwelt 
a secret fear of the earth-god’s power. 

So it was that in the morning twilight Abraham and the 
chief men of Ur gathered with the throng in the court of 
the earth-god’s temple. And as the pinnacle of the house 
caught the sun’s herald ray there was heard the sound of a 


BEGINNINGS OF A GOD 7 

drum beaten in an inner chamber. And while the drum 
throbbed, the doors were thrust aside and there appeared 
a company of priests in richly broidered robes and miters, 
with golden circlets on their arms and breastplates of brass 
over their upper garments. Into the court they bore the 
maiden, bound, and naked save for her cords. 

Now the temple was built of seven stories, each stage 
after the first being smaller than the one beneath, until 
the highest, which was the chamber of the altar. The walls 
were girdled with inclined passages that circled upward to 
the topmost platform and gave entrance to the shrine. 
Upon these the maiden was borne on a litter of ivory 
decked in costly stuffs and jewels like a queen’s bridal 
couch, while the drum notes pulsed and those gathered 
within joined thereto the wailing of their prayers. On 
each stage a trumpet was blown, the child was beaten with 
a leathern thong, and the priests singled out by their chant¬ 
ing and the motion of their hands the points of her fresh 
beauty, that they might excite the desire of their angry 
god and thus appease him. 

And when they reached the top they laid their living 
gift before the holy place where the god was and lifted a 
chant of praise to him who ruled the land from this exalted 
dwelling. And the men in the court below, save only 
Abraham, cried unto the god for rain to revive their 
parched fields, rending their garments and beating upon 
their breasts. Some of them plucked out the hair of their 
heads, and a few cut themselves about the body with knives. 
And when the zeal of the multitude would have abated, 
the chief priest made a sign for silence and drew from his 
girdle a bronze knife curved like a sickle, and he raised it 
aloft. 

Abraham, seeing the blade flash, covered his eyes that he 


8 I, YAHWEH 

might not follow its downward stroke. Wherefore certain 
men near to him murmured at his disrespect to the god, 
for by this sign they knew that he lent not his will to the 
sacrifice. But Abraham heeded them no whit, knowing, 
albeit from afar, the sweat that beaded the maid’s white 
limbs and the terror of the god that looked out of her eyes. 
He thought how meet for life was she who went to death 
while her day was at the morning, and his heart was sor¬ 
rowful within him. 

But when he heard the shriek that died in her throat, the 
pity that was in his veins turned to anger, and he burst 
from the crowd and ran blindly from the temple court, 
cursing the earth-god as he went. And those that saw his 
face fell away before him. 

As Abraham fled down the street he encountered a com¬ 
pany of fair women, many of them honorable matrons of 
Ur, who came with wanton feet and flushed faces toward 
the temple. And his wrath waxed, for he knew they sought 
the holy court there to give themselves to the priests and 
others who might claim their bodies, according to the cus¬ 
tom of the place on days of especial sacrifice. 

Now the family of Abraham had from of old frequented 
the Temple of the Moon more than the house of any other 
god in Ur because their minds were awed by his serene 
way in the heavens. Hence Abraham bethought him now 
to visit the moon-god’s sanctuary if haply in that cool twi¬ 
light he might calm the vehemence of his raging. But 
having come to the portal he found no one save an aged 
woman who swept the threshold. And gathering breath, 
he asked her, “ Are the priests of the moon-god within? ” 

And she answered, “ They have been gone from their 
stations since before the hour of moonset.” 

And her bearded chin trembled under the grin of her 


BEGINNINGS OF A GOD 9 

shrunken lips, and she cackled with laughter. Whereupon 
he asked sharply where the priests were. 

“ Ha! ” she answered. “ Where should they be but 
where the fair women have gone to conceive under the eye 
of heaven? ” 

Then the wrath of Abraham returned upon him and he 
cried, “ May the god smite quickly those servants who de¬ 
sert his altars to run after pleasures in the abode of another 
god.” 

But the crone answered, “ Son, full threescore years have 
I served the household of the moon, yet never have I known 
any of the priesthood to forego these rites — no, nor the 
gods to smite on their account.” And she smiled as one 
who would say, “ Were I minded, I could tell thee a 
tale. . . .” 

Abraham answered, “ Surely the children of men ought 
not to be conceived in this wantonness.” And he turned 
thoughtfully away to his own house. 

Now I, Yahweh, write with full knowledge of what befell 
upon this day, for, curious to discover the ways of the elder 
gods with their people, I was emboldened on the morning 
to enter the earth-god’s temple in Abraham’s company. 
So it was that I saw Abraham in the court and followed 
him to the house of the moon. And as never before I de¬ 
lighted in his comeliness — in the strength of his loins, 
his shoulders’ breadth, the eagle look to which his face was 
molded, and above all else in his courage and his zeal for 
righteousness. 

At the moon-god’s gate I marked him mine alone and 
studied how I might win him from all other gods. Where¬ 
fore I followed him not homeward, but crossed the clean- 
swept threshold, treading lightly lest the dust of the way 
fall from my feet upon the pale bricks of the floor. 


10 


I, YAHWEH 


The chamber into which I had come was beautiful, far 
beyond any that ever I had seen, but its splendor did only 
increase my wonder at that which I was minded to do. 
Nevertheless a strong purpose urged me on. 

By a door in the farther wall I entered another court. 
Past the outer and inner keepers of the god’s private gate 
I went, and no man saw me. I met the master of the temple 
harem and he perceived me not. 

I came unhindered to the moon-god’s seat. 

And behold, one sat on the steps of the god’s throne who 
was round of body and limb, but whose face, wrinkled and 
thin, was like a sun-bleached bone for want of color. His 
eyes spake a deep wisdom though he kept his tongue. In 
his hand he held a lotus plant with root and blossoms; and 
he did eat of the root. 

Fearful, but running the danger of his wrath, I said, 
“ Thou art Nannar, the moon-god? ” 

He showed no anger but spake from a vast calm: “ Thou 
hast answered thy question in the asking. As for thee, 
what dost thou desire? For I perceive in thee another of 
those little household gods who find their stations irk¬ 
some.” 

To this I answered boldly: " I am weary of dwelling in 
the back part of Abraham’s house over the bones of his 
fathers, and having been often abroad on the plains I have 
felt that which moves me toward high adventure. And 
greatly do I long to show myself the friend of man. Nay, 
more; it is in me to be a worthier god than many of them 
that the Chaldeans worship, for Abraham speaketh oft to 
me of that which befits a god. Therefore, I pray thee, O 
Nannar, give me the knowledge that maketh a god 
great.” 


BEGINNINGS OF A GOD 11 

Nannar observed me, and it was as though a faint smile 
came to the wrinkles about his eyes. “ Thou dost reach 
far above thyself,” he said. “ Art thou not overbold for a 
household god? ” 

Then said I, “ Should it be counted against me that I 
long to rise above such an one as the earth-god? ” 

Now Nannar was pleased to hear me speak against the 
earth-god. He looked on me sharply and knit his brow. 
Then, with the nod of an elder deity, he gave me this 
oracle: “ Thou shalt be a great god of a great people, for¬ 
asmuch as, having a matter to accomplish, thou dost not 
fear to urge thyself where thou art not bidden.” 

Again faintly smiling the moon-god plucked a petal from 
the lotus plant and bade me eat it; and he placed two 
petals over the lids of mine eyes. 

And behold! When I had eaten of the lotus the chamber 
where we had been was no more, neither was there earth 
beneath my feet nor sky above my head. I whirled at the 
center of a great void. Darkness was round about me. 

Then I heard afar off a voice like to that of the moon- 
god which asked me, “ What dost thou see? ” 

And I answered: “ I see nought; here are only emptiness 
and darkness. But from below me and all about there 
soundeth a fury as of world crashing upon world.” 

When I had so spoken I strove to see into the void; and 
I heard a cry for light rising from the midst of it. And 
light broke, trembling, into the darkness. Whereupon I 
saw that chaos lay beneath the light. 

Again came the voice of Nannar: “ Seest thou man, or 
god, or any living thing? ” 

And I said: “ Mine eye seeth no form; mine ear listeneth 
in vain for speech; but a presence moveth with power down 
the path of light. And lo, where it cometh it bringeth order 
into confusion; and form riseth out of the abyss.” 


12 I, YAHWEH 

And Nannar admonished me, “ Let thine eye be quick 
and thine ear ready.” 

Then I beheld that the power wrought in the clear light 
so that of its fashioning came suns and stars, the innumer¬ 
able host of the sky. And I saw that one of the lesser suns 
cast forth a part of herself as a leopard casteth her whelp. 
And the part that was cast off tore a fiery way through the 
flaming wilderness of heaven. 

And because the moon-god questioned me again in his 
far voice, I said, “ Neither is there yet a god.” 

The aimless raging of the stars ceased; sun and moon 
found their paths; Orion and the Pleiades took up their 
stations, and the Little Bear crouched by the polestar. The 
whole heaven was composed above my head. 

Even then I saw no god. 

Afterward I stood upon a world that lurched and tum¬ 
bled beneath my feet. I saw mountains that rained fire 
upon the barren waste of land. Above the hissing seas 
boiled clouds of vapor lashed with flame. 

But I saw not any god of earth or fire. 

Then, formless, unseen, yet mightily felt for its majesty, 
the power that had come down the path of light sped across 
the seas, and the waters thereof were cooled by the wind 
of its passing. No voice was there, nor language, but as 
at a word of bidding the salty waste answered to the wooing 
of the light and the seed of life sprang in the sea. And the 
waters teemed with living things. 

But no god lifted his head from the sea. 

The power swept over the land, and its wake was green 
with grass and trees and all that groweth out of the soil. 
And the dead air was quickened with the breath of grow¬ 
ing things. 

Yet saw I no god of planting or harvest moving in the 
grass or beneath the forest trees. And there was no prayer 
but the wordless breathing of unfolding life. 


BEGINNINGS OF A GOD 13 

The power circled the earth in the vault above, win¬ 
nowing the air as it went. Lightnings flashed before it and 
rain fell behind, and the thunder of its flight shook the 
heavens. And when it had passed, the great dome above 
the earth was filled with all manner of fowl and winged 
creatures. And I saw monstrous beasts flying heavily in 
the air and wingless birds with no songs in their throats 
hopping over the face of the ground. 

The moon-god questioned me yet again: “ Seest thou a 
god? ” 

“ There are herds in the valleys and flocks upon the hill,” 
I made answer, “ and the sky is dark with the flight of 
birds. But I see no altars prepared for them, nor any god 
to demand their sacrifice.” 

Then came Nannar’s voice: “ Such is the nature of the 
gods that they cannot be where man is not.” 

Again I looked upon the earth, and I saw that there were 
men who walked erect. They spake warily to their fellows, 
and the pain of thought was graven in their faces, and 
they peered over their shoulders fearfully as they went. 

Nor did any god attend their hurrying feet. 

And I felt compassion for the children of earth who fled 
they knew not what. 


The petals fell from mine eyelids and I blew a shred of 
the lotus from my lip. The floor of the chamber was under 
my feet again, and the ceiling above my head. The walls 
were about me, before, behind, and on either side. The 
moon-god sat upon the steps of his throne. To him I 
spoke: 

“ Tell me, I pray thee, the meaning of that which I have 
seen.” 

And Nannar answered, “ I know not its meaning, foras- 


I, YAHWEH 


14 

much as thou hast looked on the first mystery and the last 
which is set for the minds of gods and men.” 

“ Speak to me of man,” I besought him, “ and of the 
children of men who fled I know not what.” 

And he leaned his elbow to the step whereon he sat, and 
said: 

“ It befell in the gray morning of time that men dis¬ 
tinguished darkness from light. And they peered into the 
shadows and beheld evils lurking there — famine and 
pestilence, fire and storm and flood, sickness also, and 
death. And they said: ‘ There are spirits in the shadows 
that are not friendly toward us. Come, let us offer gifts 
to these evil ones and beseech them that they plague us 
not. It may be that their wrath will be turned aside from 
us and we shall live.’ For this cause they built them rude 
altars and offered thereon sacrifices of fear to the unfriendly 
spirits. 

“ Yet their eyes were not holden from the beauty and 
kindness that were wrought in the world. They beheld 
how dawn sprang clean and fresh from the black pit of 
night; how the day strengthened into noon. They watched 
while evening laid her quiet hand upon the earth. They 
learned to wait for the companionship of the stars. Thank¬ 
fully did they gather the fruits of the field. And they 
said: ‘ There are also spirits of good in whose favor we 
may find increase of joy. Let us worship these with gifts 
and dancing and cheerful songs of praise.’ Wherefore on 
the high hills they built them other altars, and in the depths 
of the groves, and beside slow-running waters. 

“ Thus were the gods called into being by the hopes and 
fears of men’s hearts.” 

I was astonished beyond measure to hear Nannar, him¬ 
self a god, so speak. And I asked him, “ Whence came the 
evils, and to what end are they in the world? ” 


BEGINNINGS OF A GOD 15 

And Nannar made answer: “ Have I not said that this is 
a mystery past finding out? But consider man. He hath 
the power of doing and becoming. His mind hath been 
made for the finding of wisdom and knowledge; skill hath 
been put into the fingers of his hand; his heart is stout 
with valor so that with hope he strives against the evils that 
are in the world.” 

Then, lifting his hand, he said: “ This is the knowledge 
for which thou hast asked — a god becometh great by find¬ 
ing and following that which moveth man most deeply in 
his heart.” 

Then answered I: “ Hast thou not this wisdom? Why 
art thou not chief of the gods of earth? ” 

Nannar arose from the steps and, placing a silken cushion 
at his back, seated himself on his throne. From his loos¬ 
ened fingers the lotus plant fell to the pavement. The 
yellow lids closed over his eyes. His face was weary, but 
on it was a smile that I could not read. 

And Nannar said: “ The hour of incense is come. Leave 
me, I pray thee, for I would refresh myself with the smoke 
of fragrant burning.” 

And when I turned toward the threshold, eager to hear 
further counsel and loath to part from him when heaviness 
was on him, he called to me: “ As thou goest out bid the 
chief eunuch send me Nin-Gal, the moon-goddess, to com¬ 
fort me. For thyself, ask of him a broidered cloak, and he 
will give it thee.” 


II 


FOOTPRINT ON THE MOON 


( 0 n a certain night, when Abraham was abroad on the 
plain and I not far from him, he saw that a part of the 
moon was cast into shadow; wherefore he said: “ A god of 
great majesty is passing by above me, and his foot hath 
trodden on the rim of the moon. It is doubtless he who 
hath spoken to me of late in my dreams when I have slept 
in this place.” 

Then he prayed: “ O thou who lovest righteousness and 
hatest iniquity, who yestereve didst speak to me the while 
I dreamed on this very ground: I am too weak for the 
thing which thou dost require of me. Who am I to re¬ 
buke before other men the mighty gods of Ur and those 
who serve them? Have regard for mine humble estate, 
I pray thee, and deliver me from the charge which thou 
hast laid upon me.” 

Great was mine amazement at this tale of a dream in 
which Abraham had been bidden to rebuke those of Ur; 
and when I looked on the moon and saw there the simili¬ 
tude of a footprint, I thought on what things I had seen 
in the temple of Nannar and of the mystery above the 
world and in it. And awe fell upon me. 

16 






FOOTPRINT ON THE MOON 17 

Nevertheless, greater than mine astonishment and awe 
was my purpose to separate Abraham from the gods of Ur, 
that he might be mine alone. And the rich cloak I wore 
lifted me with pride and the assurance that now was I in 
truth as one of the elder gods. Wherefore I cried out: 
“ Surely thou art mistaken. Thou shalt not go into Ur to 
testify against the gods. Men will rend the heart from 
thy body if thou defame their gods. Rather shalt thou 
get thee from Ur, and from thy father’s house, and from 
thy kindred, and shalt come into a land that I will show 
thee. And I will make of thee a great nation in which 
all people shall be blessed.” 

These words spake I in haste, being driven by my pur¬ 
pose. Nor did I know any land into which I should lead 
him. 

When Abraham saw me resplendent in the cloak which 
the moon-god had given me, he knew me not for his house¬ 
hold god. On this account he asked, “ Who art thou, and 
by what name art thou called? ” 

Now in certain tongues of the East was a word that had 
the meaning, I will be. And the sound of it was as when 
one doth say Yahweh. Therefore to Abraham I said: “ I 
am he that will be thy god; I will be thy guide to a goodly 
land; I will be thy defender, and thy shade from the heat 
of the day. And forasmuch as thou knowest me now but 
in little thou shalt prove me all along the way, what I will 
be to thee and thine. Wherefore call me Yahweh.” 

I spake with what majesty I could command; but Abra¬ 
ham put his back toward the moon and peered into my 
face. And he said: “ Thou art mine own household godl 
Whence earnest thou by that goodly cloak? ” 

“ Didst thou give it me? ” I asked him. 

And he said: “Nay. Thou knowest that such a gift were 
not within my power/’ 


I, YAHWEH 


18 

Then I asked further: “ Knowest thou where in Ur such 
a garment might be found, save in the habitations of the 
greater gods? ” 

And he answered, “Nay.” 

Then said I: “ Let it suffice thee that thou seest the god 
of thy family appareled like unto one of the principal 
gods. Trust, then, in a majesty that thou knowest not of.” 

And Abraham reverenced me for the cloak’s sake. Yet 
his mind was not persuaded, for he said: “ I cannot go 
afar with thee alone. If I fare beyond the bounds of 
Chaldea to a new land I shall be cut off from all help. 
Though the gods of Ur be partly evil, yet have they power.” 

Then said I: “ With me alone of all the gods canst thou 
safely go. For as thou sayest, Nannar and the earth-god 
and Bel have no power beyond the border of Chaldea. 
But forasmuch as I am thy family god, the spot where thou 
dost pitch thy tents will be my rightful habitation. I shall 
be god of the wayside until we come into a new country 
which I will make holy unto me and thee.” 

Abraham marveled at this saying and took courage of it, 
but his mind questioned still. Wherefore he faced toward 
the moon whereon the footprint lingered, and casting him¬ 
self to the ground face downward and at full length, he hid 
his face in his mantle. And he bade me stand behind him.' 

Then he shook off his sandals that he had loosed. And 
he said, “ Place thy foot in the hollow at the sole of my foot, 
that I may know where thou art.” 

And when I had so placed it, he said: “ If thou art a 
mighty one among the gods, and if thou wilt lead me to a 
new country, guarding me along the way, and if thou wilt 
make my people great among the children of men, as thou 
sayest, let there be markings of thy finger in the sand be¬ 
fore my face. This shall be a token between me and thee.” 

Behold a strange thing! While the man prayed thus and 


FOOTPRINT ON THE MOON 19 

I stood behind with my foot in the hollow of his, there 
came a wind which played with a palm branch and drove 
it across the ground. And markings appeared as though 
a finger had written in the sand. And Abraham doubted 
no more. And he said: “ I knew that there was one greater 
than the gods of Ur who spake to me in my dreams; and lo, 
I have found him within the narrow chamber of mine 
own house.” 

As for me, I would have said, “ It was but the wind and 
the branch of a palm tree.” But I saw the joy in his 
face. . . . 


Abraham straightway gathered his family and his flocks 
and went out from Ur, though he knew not whither. Each 
morning he traveled away from the sun, and he hasted to¬ 
ward the place of its setting at the close of day. And I, 
Yahweh, was with him wheresoever he journeyed. 

Even so did I become the special god of Abraham and 
of his people, and even so did I set my foot upon the way 
of becoming the god of the great Western world that was 
yet to appear. 

Mark this now of Abraham, for in it he was like all good 
men who worship the familiar gods and trust in them. 
When grass was scant for his cattle he prayed for guidance to 
other pastures; but when he had prayed his own eye looked 
over the plains more searchingly. When he committed 
an evil — as all men do — he sought my forgiveness; yet 
even as he called upon me did he cast about how he might 
of himself amend his ways. When he fell into despair it 
was of me that he asked deliverance; nevertheless there 
was in his own soul that which responded. Thus from 
time to time there came to him a sense of deep peace and 


20 I, YAHWEH 

warm security. And Abraham said, “ Behold, it is the 
work of Yahweh.” 

Now, it is true of the gods that they take their thoughts 
and the nature of their desires from the folk who worship 
them. As a man is, so is his god. Men pass away; but the 
gods remain from generation to generation. Thus it 
comes that an older god takes not the whole form of his 
mind at any time from one man. The stamp of former 
years is upon him when a new worshiper first approaches 
his altar, and strong minds can but modify, not make 
anew, the gods they worship. 

Yet forasmuch as I was a young god of unformed char¬ 
acter, what Abraham was I became. And forasmuch as 
I was god first of a man who had no taste for evil and 
yearned after the good, so inclined I toward purity and 
justice and righteousness. Furthermore, when Abraham 
came upon a new people and found that which was worthy 
in their god, he said, “ This pertaineth also to my god, 
Yahweh.” So was I dowered with that which was best 
in all the gods of the lands through which we journeyed. 

But fearing lest I become as the gods of Ur, Abraham 
made it ever his purpose to protect me against temptation. 

Even so did he protect me upon a time when we traveled 
with his numerous caravan through the desert places that 
lay on the hither side of the land of Canaan. For it came 
to pass that the well where we would have rested at noon¬ 
day was dried up, and Abraham rode forth upon an ass 
to try if the next water spring still flowed. Many times 
did he see palm trees that were not, and when at last we 
came to the true well he put forth his hand into the water 
if so be his eye had deceived him yet again. 

But even as he stooped to slake his thirst he heard that 
which made him lift his eyes; and he arose and saw a 
woman dancing in the cool shade of the palm trees. She 


FOOTPRINT ON THE MOON 21 

was a woman of a delicate yet lively beauty, and there was 
a strangeness in her dancing whereat he marveled greatly. 
For under her feet on all the ground there was a tangle 
of stout briars, yet her feet touched not the thorns, although 
her eyes were closed. Moreover, a song of exceeding 
beauty came from her mouth, albeit she moved not her 
lips. And even as Abraham marveled she cast aside her 
garment. And lo, she was of a smooth brown color, like 
to a daughter of the desert, and the moisture of her skin 
glistened in the light while she stepped and spun on her toes, 
lightly avoiding the thorns. 

Now Abraham was astonished beyond measure at this 
sight, and his blood warmed toward the dancing woman 
until he ardently desired her. And while he clapped his 
hands to her singing he cried out, saying: “ Tell me, I 
pray thee, how is it that thy feet tread not on the thorns 
though thine eyes be closed; and how can there be song 
when thy lips move not? ” 

And the woman smiled and answered him: “ A she-spirit 
of the desert possessed! me, singing through my lips that 
are closed and guiding my feet surely to avoid the thorns. 
For the free spirits of the waste places give a joy to those 
that worship them which stern gods like thine give not.” 
And having spoken she danced the faster so that Abraham 
grew faint with her whirlings. 

As for me, I heard her song with gladness, and I yearned 
toward the merry spirit that kept her feet and whirled her 
body and filled her throat with music. 

Then spake I in Abraham's ear: “Is it not a cunning 
and knowing spirit and pleasant withal, forasmuch as the 
woman toucheth not the briars with her feet, and open¬ 
ed! not her lips in the singing, and hath joy in the corners 
of her mouth? Shall we not draw near? ” 

But Abraham, hearkening, mounted quickly on the ass 


I, YAHWEH 


22 

and hasted from that place, though the pleasant woman 
cried after him and he, in his desire, was loath to part 
from her. 


Now hard by the spring of water were rocks and a cave 
therein. And Abraham, having entered the cave, spread 
his mantle across the mouth thereof. And he communed 
with me concerning this matter in the gloom of the cave. 

But when Abraham did take again his mantle to come 
forth from the cave, lo, the woman stood before him. 
And Abraham was wroth on seeing her. Yet he marked 
that her garment was upon her limbs, and that there were 
tears under her downcast eyes, and that her hands lay 
crossed upon her breast after the manner of a suppliant. 
Therefore he hearkened when she spake softly and said: 
“ Why dealest thou so hardly with thine handmaiden, my 
father, and why dost thou flee from me, seeing that my 
heart desireth to be with thee? For I have heard of thy 
goodness and greatness and how wise is the god whom thou 
dost serve. Take me into thy caravan, I beseech thee, 
and let me be one of thy lesser servants. Show me that pity 
which men say thou hast, for I am an orphan and husband¬ 
less and there is no one to stand between me and the hard¬ 
ness of life.” 

And Abraham said: “ Nay, it may not be. There is 
room in my household and in my caravan for thee, but 
in the house of Yahweh is no room for spirits so cunning 
as that which useth thee.” 

And the woman answered: “ Fear not, my father, for 
there shall go with me into thy caravan no spirit of the 
desert. Yahweh is thy god. He shall be my god also, and 
him only will I serve.” 

And Abraham took the woman to his caravan and she 


FOOTPRINT ON THE MOON 2 % 

became the handmaiden of his wife, Sarah. And the 
woman’s name was Hagar. 

In those days Abraham grieved sorely because there 
were no children in his tent. For a man’s wealth doth 
not lie wholly in his cattle, but also in the number and 
vigor of his sons. And the sheiks of the plain laughed 
because he had no son, and mocked me, his god, saying, 
“ What kind of god is this that cannot open the womb 
of Sarah? ” 

Therefore Abraham took to himself Hagar the hand¬ 
maiden; and she bare him a son Ishmael to give him com¬ 
fort in his age. And Hagar said, “It is for the honor of 
Yahweh, that he may keep the promise made thee to the 
intent that thy family should be a blessing to all the peoples 
of the earth.” 

Then it came to pass that Sarah bare Isaac. And there 
was strife in the tents of Abraham. Sarah looked with 
jealousy upon Hagar and the serving-woman beheld with 
envy the kindlier lot of her mistress. And there was bitter¬ 
ness between Isaac and Ishmael. 

The heart of Abraham was heavy and his mind sore 
perplexed because of the strife in his tents, yet he forebore 
to judge harshly between the women and their sons, foras¬ 
much as he cherished both lads well. 

And he said: “ It is hard for a family if there be a con¬ 
fusion of blood in its tents. Even so would it be for my 
people should confusion of gods come about and the nation 
be divided and strive each man for the honor of his 
own.” Therefore he made solemn covenant with me that 
there should be no other gods nor images in his tribe which 
was destined to become a great nation. 

But the servingmen brought images of the she-spirits 
into their tents, albeit secretly, for fear of their master. 
And they inflamed themselves with the images and wrought 


I, YAHWEH 


24 

lewdness among the handmaidens. And all the people of 
Abraham’s household yearned after the lusty spirits that 
brought the urge of desire upon them. And they said: 
“ Doth not all life come through the love of two? How, 
then, can we become a fruitful and mighty people if Yah- 
weh abide alone? Will not desire cease in us and we be¬ 
come barren? Will our cattle multiply or the plains bear 
their grass if there be not fecund spirits among us? ” 

Thus it came to pass on a certain day in the springing 
of the year that Abraham saw an aged herdsman bowing 
before an image under a budding tree. Whereupon he 
cried out and said, “ What dost thou under the tree, and 
what is that before thee on the ground to which thou bow- 
est thyself? ” 

And the old man answered: “ It is a she-spirit of love 
and pleasantness. For is not this the time of budding trees 
and of birds nesting in the thickets? ” 

But Abraham was exceeding wroth and cried: “Cast it 
from thee. Such things are an abomination to Yahweh.” 

Therefore the man made as though he would cast it away; 
but he hid it in the folds of his garment. And in the night 
Abraham heard the laugh of a woman from behind the 
curtain of the herdsman’s tent. 

In the morning Abraham called that herdsman before 
him, and when he had upbraided him, he asked, “ Whence 
came these images among you? ” 

And the man said: “ The woman Hagar, she who bare 
thee a son, hath showed us how to make them of clay. 
And we thought, ‘ Abraham doth but speak against the 
images lest Yahweh rebuke him of his covenant. For hath 
not a she-spirit joined his own heart to the heart of 
Hagar? ’ ” 

Then was Abraham smitten with shame and grief. And 
he sought Hagar out and said to her: “ What is this that 


I, YAHWEH 


26 

plucked at the sleeve of his garment, saying, “ Let us com¬ 
mune together concerning the things of thee and me.” 

Then they communed together. And Ben-Ammon spat 
contemptuously before Abraham and spoke largely both 
of what he knew and of what he understood not, and his 
manner was that of an oracle whose word cannot be 
shaken. 

For the man who has got him great riches says in his 
pride: “ Forasmuch as I am wise and skillful in the getting 
of riches, have I not wisdom to speak on all matters? Let 
lesser men hold their peace.” 

And he said craftily to Abraham, “ How is it with thee, 
my poor friend, for thou seemest to be in a hard way with 
thy cattle? ” 

To which Abraham replied, “ A murrain is on them, 
by reason of which the kine die and the ewes do not 
increase.” 

Then Ben-Ammon spake softly and said, “ Bow thine 
ear to me and I will tell thee a thing.” For he was a 
man of low stature. And looking first about the plain, 
he whispered, “ Surely it is because thou hast neglected 
to give Yahweh that which nourisheth the life of a god.” 

And he put his mouth close to the ear of Abraham yet 
again: “ Jared, my son, was a goodly lad, in age and come¬ 
liness like to thy son Isaac. And behold how my god hath 
prospered me.” 

But Abraham said, “It is not with Yahweh as with 
other gods.” 

Then did Ben-Ammon reproach Abraham, saying: “ Art 
thou wiser than the priests who have been in the counsels 
of the gods since the founding of the earth? Consider the 
lion in his strength and the jackal in his wily doings. 
Strength cometh not save by devouring. Nor is it other¬ 
wise with the gods.” 


FOOTPRINT ON THE MOON 25 

thou hast secretly brought from the desert? Get thee from 
this caravan and take Ishmael thy son.” 

And Hagar fell upon the ground and buried her face 
in Abraham’s mantle. And weeping she said: “ Have I 
not loved thee and comforted thee with a son? Wherefore 
dost thou now cast me out? Behold in all the earth there is 
no place where I may go. We shall become the prey of wild 
men and I shall be made a light woman among the desert 
tribes. Nay, it is not in thine heart to do this thing.” 

Abraham answered, “ The soul must suffer for right¬ 
eousness’ sake, and he that would follow after Yahweh must 
endure hardness.” 

But Abraham sorrowed for Hagar with whom he had 
dealt hardly for my sake. 


Hear now that whereof the scribes have written without 
full knowledge. 

It came to pass after many years that a murrain troubled 
the flocks and herds of Abraham so that the ewes bare not 
and death smote down many of the choicest kine. There¬ 
fore was Abraham sorrowful, yet knew not how to repent 
him, forasmuch as his conduct had been just and upright. 

On a certain day, while the cattle moved heavily from 
grass to grass and ate not, for that the curse was upon them, 
Abraham met a man at the crossing of two ways on the 
plain. The name of this man was Ben-Ammon and he 
was very rich. There was a garment of fine wool upon 
his shoulders, trinkets of precious metal hung around his 
neck on a golden chain, and there were rings in his ears. 
His beard was combed and it flowed over his breast, and 
the air was lively with the perfume of Araby wherewith 
he had anointed it. 

Now Abraham saw not Ben-Ammon until that one 


FOOTPRINT ON THE MOON 


27 

Now the lad Isaac was comely, and of a quick under¬ 
standing, and gentle of heart, and when strangers spake 
well of him Abraham was wont to reply, “Is he not the 
gift of Yahweh? ” 

But Abraham from that day forth took no joy of him, 
for he thought only: “ Yahweh is a righteous god. But 
mayhap the righteousness of gods is not as the righteous¬ 
ness of men.” Yet he told not Sarah, lest the matter be too 
hard for her. 

And he went forth into the night alone to ponder if haply 
he might save both his child and his god. And he spake 
aloud to me, saying: “ I have kept the word that was be¬ 
tween us. I have not worshiped other gods nor withheld 
that which was thy due. Nor is there anything that I would 
withhold from thee, save only Isaac.” 

But the words of Ben-Ammon had stirred in me the 
desire to grow strong, even as I had felt it on the plains of 
Ur. And the sternness of Abraham lay heavy upon me by 
reason of the merry spirits of Hagar. And I answered him 
and said, “ Put softness from thee and make thine heart 
stout for the thing which must be done.” 

And when morning came, Abraham led Isaac away from 
the tents toward a hill where he was wont to offer sacrifice. 

And behold, as they walked the lad put his hand into the 
palm of his father’s hand trustingly. But Abraham looked 
not at him. Now verily when a man may not look squarely 
on the thing which he doeth, of a surety he doeth an evil. 

When they had come to the hill Abraham bound Isaac 
on a bundle of faggots and laid him upon an altar of stone 
that he had raised at the top of the hill. And seeing his son 
laid ready for sacrifice, there came to him the memory of 
Ana who had suffered in like wise. And it seemed to him 
that Ana and Isaac were one and that he stood again in the 
earth-god’s temple while the knife flashed upward in the 


I, YAHWEH 


28 

priest’s hand and a maiden’s shriek answered its downward 
thrust. And Abraham swooned with the love of his son 
that was on him. And out of his faintness there came to 
him a voice that said, “ Arise and look upon Isaac thy son, 
and see what thine eyes shall see.” 

Then strength returned to Abraham, and as he looked 
on Isaac he felt more sharply than aforetime that life had 
ends other than eating, drinking and begetting. And 
though he had not the wit to put into speech a further 
thought — no, nor to grasp it fully — he cried: “ Behold, 
Yahweh! It is the life of Isaac and not his death that shall 
give thee strength.” 

And the wisdom of Abraham’s saying entered into me, 
and I repented of my cruel thirst for the blood of mine own 
people. Yet I said, “ Nevertheless, give me at least a lamb 
from the flock to stay me.” And Abraham sacrificed will- 
ingly. 

From the day of Isaac’s deliverance Abraham journeyed 
far, seeking the land that I had promised. He looked 
always for a city with righteousness for its foundation, and 
I with him; and though he found it not, at times he so 
lifted the thoughts of men by the courage of his seeking 
that some wrought righteousness in cities that were not 
righteous. 

At last after many wanderings Abraham’s firm step grew 
feeble, and his hand trembled on the head of his staff. 

One night he went forth from his tent; and there came 
to him again the vision of one who walked abroad in the 
heavens, and Abraham saw the print of his foot upon the 
moon. Then he laid him down to sleep; and when morn¬ 
ing came he waked not. 


Ill 


MOUNT OF MEETING 


W hen abraham died I fell into a lonely state. The peo¬ 
ple of his household owned me god of the tribe and wor¬ 
shiped after their manner. But none was like unto him. 

Some were keepers of flocks and herds as he had been. 
Others, dwelling in the fruitful country whereto he had 
led them, became tillers of the soil and dressers of vineyards 
also. On every hillside that fronted the sun they planted 
their vines. Their corn grew rank and full in the fertile 
valleys. And when they tasted the fruits of their planting 
they folded the tents that had been in Abraham’s caravan 
and built them houses and threshing floors. 

Thereafter they sought no hardness to endure for right¬ 
eousness’ sake; rather did they concern themselves with the 
increase of their flocks and the yield of the ground. 

To me they said: “ Thou, Yahweh, shalt not know the 
perilous ways of the desert again. In these valleys between 
the hills thou shalt study to be god of harvests and plenty.” 

And they besought me to put my blessing on the plow- 
lands in the spring, to send rain and sunshine in their due 
season, and to hold back the clouds when men went into 
the fields to reap the summer fruits. Also, I learned to bless 


29 






I, YAHWEH 


30 

the rams and their ewes when the time for conceiving had 
come. For men said, “ In the potent word of Yahweh is 
health and the increase of life.” 

Yet, being full, my people knew not content. And they 
said to me: “ There are tribes of Ishmaelites that till not 
the soil, neither have they a god skillful with the ground 
and generous withal. But they have gold and silver and 
woven stuffs, dates from the palm and certain delicacies 
which they bring from afar. With these they would buy of 
us corn and wine, olives also and fine herbs.” 

And they said further: “ Thou hast done well by us; but 
couldst thou not by taking thought make the barley fuller 
in the head and lengthen the new shoots of the vines? And 
it may be thou couldst find a word that would cause the 
ewes to conceive their young always by twos. Then should 
we have wherewith to trade to our advantage and to thine. 
A tenth part of the increase will we set apart for thee.” 

And they added thereto: “ Think not that we are un¬ 
thankful; but it hath been told us that in the land of Edom 
are clusters of grapes of a forearm’s length, and in Egypt 
barley that lifteth not its head for the weight of its kernels.” 

Thus did they press me as one presseth the winefat for 
the last of its yield. And I bore with them until my labors 
caused me to loathe field and cattle stall. 

Moreover, I looked abroad and beheld how the gods of 
other tribes had become mighty warriors. And I be¬ 
thought me how with a sword in my hand I might move as 
an equal among them. And because at the winevats and 
within the sheepfolds I found no room to exercise those 
nobler forces which Abraham had taught me to recognize, 
my hand began to tighten for the hard grip of the sword. 
But when the people knew of my desire they said: “ Abide 
in peace until we become rich and numerous and until the 
strength of thine arm is increased to equality with that of 


MOUNT OF MEETING 


3 1 

him who is mightiest among the gods. Then shalt thou 
stretch out thy scepter over all the earth. Nor shall any 
god think to sharpen his sword against thee.” 

Nevertheless, I went over into Moab in the season be¬ 
tween the early and the latter rain and got me a sword of 
tempered iron which I hid under the threshing floor of one 
Aachan, who was priest in Beersheba. 

But it came to pass that, inasmuch as I departed from 
time to time to practice with my weapon against the gods 
round about, the fields began to languish and the potency 
of my word over the flocks decreased. There came years 
of leanness and hunger when all that had been stored up 
during the fat seasons was eaten. The starveling ewes were 
barren and the kine labored in vain to bring their calves 
to birth. 

Then a great part of my people said: “ Yahweh is not as 
he was aforetime. Come, let us go down to Egypt, whose 
harvests fail not; where the life-sustaining corn spills 
through the cracks of the granary walls, and where is wine 
in abundance. With gold and silver in our hands we shall 
eat of the Nile gods’ fruitfulness, and the wine of that good 
land shall fill us with gladness.” 

Howbeit, a few of them remained behind in the desolate 
habitation of their fathers, and I with them. 

In the fullness of time they who had journeyed into Egypt 
spent their gold and silver for corn and wine and delicate 
food. And the dark people of that country made them as 
slaves and oppressed them mightily, so that they loathed 
their lives. 

I said, “ Let them prove now whether Set or Osiris, those 
gods of Egypt, will buy them dates from the Ishmaelites.” 

And in Canaan we heard of them no more for many 
generations. 


3 * 


I, YAHWEH 


At long length there came a wanderer up out of Egypt 
who said: “ The children of Israel have become a numer¬ 
ous people and have stolen away by craft from Pharaoh to 
go into the land where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were. 
They seek after Yahweh, their fathers’ god, of whom in the 
house of their bondage they have but newly heard, foras¬ 
much as Moses, who leadeth them, hath spoken concerning 
him.” 

At this report I warmed toward the exiles and straight¬ 
way went forth along the road that leadeth up from Egypt. 

And I came to Mount Sinai in the wilderness, an awe¬ 
some height, riven by lightnings and furrowed by the 
descent of rocks and waters through the ages. Behind and 
on either side it saw the seas, but in front it looked over the 
land of the Amalekites. 

At first I walked softly on the mountain, being a god of 
sowing and harvest and long unaccustomed to the open 
way. Moreover, I was on land not mine own in a day when 
the gods went seldom abroad. But I thought on Abraham’s 
people who could not be holden by the Pharaoh of Egypt, 
no, nor by the great gods of the Nile, and I took my Moab- 
itish sword and carried it bare in mine hand. 

Now it so befell that, as I went round the face of the 
mount southward, I heard a great tumult and beheld two 
fierce gods of the Amalekites contending in the road. 
Wherefore I put my sword back at my thigh and drew my 
garment over it. And I bethought me: “ Did not the going 
seem smoother by the northward side? And who knoweth 
but that the prospect is fairer where one may look over the 
wide plains of Amalek? ” And I went lightly back and took 
the northerly road, until I came to a place where a great 
rock lay beneath a cliff. Behind it I made a booth of cedar 
boughs. 


MOUNT OF MEETING 


33 


On a morning of clear light I saw a cloud afar off in the 
wilderness, and I said: “ It is the dust of a marching host, 
Yahweh; behold where Israel, thy great and valiant nation, 
cometh to meet thee.” I forgot the gods who quarreled on 
the mountain; nay, I remembered, but recked not whether 
they were near or far. 

About noontide the host came up out of the wilderness 
and passed before me; whereat I was filled with astonish¬ 
ment. For I saw that they were a rabble, wretched and un¬ 
sightly. Their garments were ragged and their feet went 
unshod, and their faces were hollowed by hunger. There 
was bitterness in the pools of their eyes, and as they went 
they murmured against Moses who had led them out from 
a land of abundance. And I asked, “ Is this the people to 
whom I am god? ” And I repented that I had come to greet 
them. 

Yet had I refused this people, or they me, who now would 
be god of the Western nations? 

Now in the midst of this lagging and complaining com¬ 
pany there came one who bore a writer’s inkhom and pens 
and rolls of papyrus. Behind him walked a man who 
moved his lips and waved his hands as though he practiced 
an oration. Seeing him I said, “ Surely he of the proud 
look and moving hands is Moses, the wise man of Israel.” 

But when I called he did but dab with his hand as though 
a gnat buzzed at his ear. 

There passed by another, bearing a great shield and a 
sword of iron. And I saw that one followed him clad in the 
full panoply of war, beneath whose feet the stones of the 
way made loud complaint, forasmuch as he trod weightily 
on his heels. 

When I saw him going thus, I said, “ Nay, but without 
doubt this is Moses, the strong man of my people.” 


34 I> YAHWEH 

Yet when I called to him he frowned and glared about 
him as one who heareth the voice of an enemy. 

Afterward there came one who walked alone by reason 
that the people left a space before and after. He marched 
with his head bowed, and his beard lay upon his breast. 
And because he went heavily and had none to attend him, 
I called not. 

But when he came nigh the rock he brake suddenly from 
his dreaming and approached me where I was. “ Art thou 
Yahweh, the god? ” he asked, perceiving me. 

I answered, “ I am he.” 

He motioned with his head, saying, “ Will it please thee 
to come behind this rock, that we may commune privily 
together? ” 

Wherefore I questioned whether this might not be 
Moses, for all he moved not his hands nor stamped with 
his feet. 

Marveling how he knew me, I asked, “ By what sign didst 
thou discover my name and abiding place? ” 

He pointed, and I beheld a bush whose leaves when the 
wind ruffled them seemed to burn with an ardent fire. 
And Moses said: “ What time I fled Egypt for fear of 
Pharaoh and came to this land, where I joined myself to the 
wandering tribes of Midian, I led the flocks of Jethro, my 
father-in-law, priest of Midian, to this mount. And my 
spirit was heavy by reason of my people’s sorrow. And 
behold! here did I see this same bush which burns with fire 
and is not consumed. And lo, there came a warmth into 
my breast that answered to the fire of the bush. And I 
heard a voice crying, ‘ Thou, Moses, art chosen to save my 
people.’ Which voice, though it was familiar as mine own 
thoughts, was no more mine than is the thunder. And lo, 
this bush gave back the words, * Thou art chosen.* 

“ Then said I, ‘ Nay, for I am an unready man.’ 


MOUNT OF MEETING 35 

“ To which came the answer, * Fear not, for I will be with 
thee.’ 

“ The wind blew, the branches of the bush tossed them¬ 
selves to and fro, and the fire leaped on the branches. And 
from the leaping tongues came the echo, ‘ I will be with 
thee.’ 

“ Then said I, ‘ It is the god, I will be, who spake to our 
father Abraham.’ And I put my shoes from off my feet 
and worshiped. Thereafter I went down into Egypt un¬ 
afraid and led this people up, promising that I would bring 
them to thee at the bush which burns and is not consumed.” 

And Moses, worshiping me, said: “ When I was in Egypt 
and looked on the works of Set, the evil god, and of Osiris, 
who wrought righteousness with a slack hand, I thought on 
what things my fathers had told me of Abraham’s god who 
was righteous above all gods. And because I cherished 
thee in my heart thou didst bring me to thy seat. Blessed 
art thou, Yahweh, who wilt be unto us a sun and a shield.” 

While I considered how to answer this, Moses turned his 
mind to another matter and asked, “ Sawest thou my 
brother Aaron, who hath a scribe, and Joshua, before 
whom was borne the two-handed sword? ” 

“ Yea,” I answered, “ and I judged them men of mark.” 

But Moses shook his head, saying, “ They are a weariness 
to me and a source of mischief to the people.” 

Then he looked on the garment which I had brought of 
old time from the moon-god’s house, faded now from sun 
and weather, and on my feet splayed by the plowlands. But 
my sword he saw not for that it lay hidden beneath my 
cloak. And he said, “ Tell me truly: what manner of god 
art thou? ” 

And I answered him truly, “ I am a god of harvests and 
plenty and I am skillful with the flocks and herds.” 

Whereupon Moses turned as if to question the bush that 


I, YAHWEH 


36 

seemed to burn. And he said: “ Nay! I was persuaded that 
thou wert of a greater dignity. It promiseth to go hard 
with thee and me, for this people hath been long in Egypt 
among men subtle in wisdom and governed by laws ex¬ 
ceeding wise. It may be they will not follow a god who is 
a plowman and a tender of olive trees; nor will they serve 
one who keepeth the sheep.” 

Now I, who but lately had despised the shuffling host, 
was so pricked by Moses’ words that at the moment I de¬ 
sired nothing more than to be accepted by the ragged 
legion as their god. And I rebuked Moses, saying: “ Doest 
thou well to judge thy god thus? I am skillful with the 
ground and can satisfy the people with good things, if they 
press me not overmuch as did their fathers. Moreover, I 
am desirous of becoming a god of war. For the people’s 
sake reject me not.” 

Moses gave me neither yea nor nay. He said only, 
“ Abide here, I pray thee, Yahweh, until I return.” And 
going down, he commanded the children of Israel to build 
them an encampment and dwell there certain days while he 
communed with me in the mountain. “ For I have found 
Yahweh among the rocks above,” he told them. “ Surely 
I will bring you a good word from his mouth.” And they 
camped before Sinai on the plain. 

And Moses returned and, leading me to the pinnacle of 
the rock, conferred with me, saying: “ Have patience, I 
pray thee, Yahweh, and know that it is not in my heart to 
show contempt nor to assume wisdom before the god of my 
fathers. Nevertheless, I must speak, for these people whom 
I lead are as a millstone round my neck, stubborn and re¬ 
bellious. Yet have I said that I would show them a safe and 
fruitful country. Now, I perceive that thou art a kindly 
god, but without subtlety of wisdom, having been with the 


MOUNT OF MEETING 


37 

sheep overmuch. Hear then the matter which I have 
learned among the Egyptians, and if it seem good to thee let 
this wisdom be thine for the guidance of thy people.” 

Thus it came about that through forty days he instructed 
me in the knowledge of Egypt, neglecting not to bear also 
upon the laws of Ammurabi, King of Babylon, the report 
of which had gone abroad among all the eastern nations. 
And I, being young, was eager and quick of understanding, 
so that I mastered the ripest thought which Moses did set 
before me. 

Now when the forty days were well-nigh spent, Moses 
asked me, “ Wilt thou give these matters upon which we 
have taken counsel to be an everlasting law unto thy peo¬ 
ple? ” 

And I said: “ Why indeed should a law be given? Be¬ 
hold, there is wisdom and there is readiness among the 
people and the scroll of life lies open before their eyes that 
they may learn for themselves the right ways of doing. If 
they live and draw knowledge out of living, will they not 
come to understand what is good and what evil, so that they 
may cleave to the one and flee the other? I, their god, was 
god of the open way ere I set my hand to the plow or laid it 
upon the shepherd’s crook.” 

But Moses answered: “Nay. To find the way for them¬ 
selves were too perilous. The path must be clearly marked 
by a wisdom greater than their own, lest perchance they go 
astray and fall to destruction. Let there be ten words given 
for their guidance.” 

Then I asked: “ Will ten words of law cover the whole 
of life? It seemeth to me that there should be more words 
than ten, if a law be given at all.” 

Moses asked, “ How many fingers be on the two hands 
of a man? ” 


I, YAHWEH 


38 

And I said, “ Ten, if thou count the thumbs.” 

“ I shall name each finger for a law,” said he. “ So shall 
Israel remember, and their seed unto all generations.” 

Thereupon he hewed out two tables of stone and graved 
words upon them with a graving tool. And when he had 
made an end he inquired of me, “ Be these thy laws. Yah- 
weh, which thou givest for the guidance of thy people? ” 

And I answered him, “ Thou knowest.” 

Yet even as he turned to go down the mountain I ques¬ 
tioned him, saying, “ Will not the wisdom and law of which 
I am god require warlike might to uphold them? ” 

And he answered, “ It may be so, but let us trust in law 
and wisdom first.” 

Now it came to pass that, as Moses descended to the host, 
a shower of thunder and rain brake over the mountain 
head, causing him to walk into the camp as if out of a cloud. 
And the people, who had been sore afraid when they saw 
the lightning play over the mountain and stab about them 
on the plain, were glad when they beheld the face of Moses. 

Then he read aloud the writings that were on the tables, 
giving them for perpetual law. And the host rejoiced at the 
reading, for they said, “ Assuredly there is a most wise god 
in the mount at whose mouth Moses hath learned these 
things that be written.” And they inquired of him what 
manner of god I was. Whereto Moses replied: “ Behold, he 
hath lately been a tiller of the soil and exceedingly skillful 
with olive trees and flocks. But aforetime he went much 
in the open way and trafficked with many peoples. And he 
is now a god of law and great wisdom. If ye learn his will 
and do it, ye shall prevail over all nations by the might of 
his wisdom. And there shall be no people like unto you in 
all the earth.” 


MOUNT OF MEETING 


39 


But Joshua, he that had the great sword, said: “ When 
we come to Canaan there will be peoples round about to 
sow, and their gods to give the increase. Israel hath need 
of a god who can reap the whole land with a sword, that 
the good of all peoples may be ours. Is this Yahweh prac¬ 
ticed in the use of weapons? ” 

And Moses told him: “ He hath not accustomed his hand 
to the sword. But he is stout withal and knoweth well how 
to give plenty within our borders/' 

When they heard of plenty the people minded not 
Joshua, but they built them an altar in the midst of their 
camp and made ready to sacrifice unto me. 

But when Aaron, the brother of Moses, saw the altar how 
it was made, he cried: “Nay, nay, good people. Not so, I 
pray you, but in this fashion let the altar be built.” And 
he took the stones that were at the left of the altar and put 
them in the place of those at the right. And he signed 
above the altar with his hands until all were astonished at 
the weavings of his fingers in the air. For Aaron did as he 
had seen the priests of Egypt do. 

Now Aaron knew not why he changed the stones, nor was 
there meaning in the motions of his hands. But he waved 
lightly in the air above the altar and said: “ Left to right 
and right to left; it is better so, lest the god be offended by 
the plainness of your doings. Let all things be done subtly 
and with signs of mystery, and surely the god will be 
pleased and he will espouse you as a knowing and worthy 
people.” 

And the people standing round about admired greatly, 
for they said, “ Aaron maketh a powerful magic.” 

Then Aaron called for the man with the writing instru¬ 
ments and wrote all things concerning the altar: what was 


I, YAHWEH 


40 

the length and the breadth and the height of it; and how 
the stones were laid; and which side fronted the east. For 
his custom was, when he had done a thing, to note it in a 
book. And if perchance one of the people did it in a differ¬ 
ent way afterward, Aaron would say: “Nay, nay, good 
friend. It was not so done aforetime.” And after reading 
from the book he would ask, “ Said I not so? ” And he that 
had done otherwise would be persuaded by the words of the 
book. 

Now upon that day when the children of Israel struck 
their tents to move forward, rejoicing that they had found 
a god to go with them, Aaron came and stood before Moses 
bearing in his hands a piece of acacia wood and a carpen¬ 
ter’s hammer. These he fingered nimbly the while he 
muttered certain syllables over them. And Moses, being 
ever patient with Aaron, asked, “ What new wonder hast 
thou there, my brother? ” 

But Aaron held back his answer and said, “ Peradventure 
this god, Yahweh of the mount, will not go with us.” 

Then Moses sought to quiet Aaron: “ Fear not. He will 

go” 

But Aaron persisted, saying: “ Nay, brother, it is much 
to be doubted. It seemeth to me that he may not go; or 
else, mayhap, if he goeth at the first, he may leave us later in 
the way. Hath he not by long continuance become a god 
of this mountain? Is he not a stranger to the ways of the 
desert, and, it may be, not inclined to travel abroad? Be¬ 
hold, this people will be in a sorry hap if after a time of 
tedious going his heart turn in longing toward his home 
and he leave them unbefriended on their journey. Now 
therefore come and see the traveling throne of this goodly 
acacia wood which I have fashioned for him. And tell me 
if it be not of a craftsmanship like to the cunning work of 
Egypt, contrived to delight a knowing god. Entice Yah¬ 
weh, I beseech thee, to enter it, that we may carry him 


MOUNT OF MEETING 


41 

with us. Then shall I, who am well instructed, prevail 
upon him to succor us in every time of chance and peril.” 

And as he showed to Moses a chest of acacia wood, he 
made signs with his fingers and spake magic words, saying 
thereafter: “ There be courtesies, my brother, and secret 
rites, without which one may not win the favor of a god. 
Believe me, it is so. This people will do well to hear at 
my mouth of those observances which from the beginning 
have given success to them that worship the gods. Where¬ 
fore, I pray thee, let this Yahweh be under my hand.” 

Moses then looked on what Aaron had made; and he 
said, “ It is nought but a great box with a lid upon it! ” 

“ Not so,” answered Aaron. “ It is a traveling throne 
of expert workmanship; and as for the lid, it is to shelter 
the god against sun and weather.” But in his heart he said, 
“ Let there be a covering, lest the god see overmuch and 
like not what he seeth.” 

Then Moses, being weary of Aaron, made answer, “ I 
will go into the mountain and inquire of Yahweh.” And 
when he came to me, saying, “ Wilt thou get into this chest, 
Yahweh, to ease me of this babbler? ” I answered him, 
“ Yea.” For I said, “ I shall be in and out as it may please 
me.” 

In the morning Aaron brought soil from the mountain 
and lifted a corner of the lid of the chest and sprinkled the 
soil within. And Moses stood hard by. And Aaron called 
to Moses: “ Let one go up on the mountain and cut me 
a rod of a willow tree, that I may put it with this soil of 
the mountain within the traveling throne. Even so shall 
the god smell the earth and the sap of the rod from the 
mountain and be well content in strange lands.” 

Now Moses, though he despised this doing, himself 
cut a rod from a bush that grew by the stream where the 
host had quenched their thirst. Four new buds it held, two 
on either side of the rod. But when Aaron saw that they 


I, YAHWEH 


42 

were two and two, he said, “ Nay, brother, but let there be 
two buds on the one side and three on the other.” And 
when Moses inquired concerning the reason thereof, Aaron 
said, “ It is better so, lest the god be offended.” And Moses 
suffered him and cut another branch. 

Then Aaron wrote in his book: “ Dust of the earth, 
with three buds and two, alternate, upon a willow rod, 
newly cut. Let it be ever so in future time when the god 
goeth abroad.” And he bowed himself this way and that 
before the chest, gesturing the while with his hands. 

But it came to pass that Joshua joined himself to Moses 
and mocked, saying: “ What manner of god is this that 
rideth as doth a delicate woman? Behold, we are abreast 
of the land of the Amalekites, a fierce people. Danger 
lurketh in the way. Take Yahweh, I charge thee, from 
Aaron and let him be under mine hand, that I may teach 
him the ways of warfare.” 

Whereto Moses answered: “ Fear not at all, for peace 
is in the keeping of our god, and they that serve him will 
suffer no harm of any nation.” 

But Joshua complained: “ It is hard, indeed, for a march¬ 
ing people going into a new and strange land if their god 
knoweth not warfare.” 

From that time he marched at the head of the rabble, 
and as he went he made a song to the measure of their 
marching feet: 

Our god is a mighty god, 

And terrible in his strength. 

Behold, he smiteth nations that are very great 
And cleaveth a way for his chosen people. 

Yahweh doeth valiantly with his strong right arm, 

And there are no gods who can stand 
Before his fierce anger. 


MOUNT OF MEETING 


43 

Now when Joshua sang and trod heavily with his feet, 
lifting them high as he went, the people took up his song 
and thundered on the earth with their feet also, and all 
together thus became a mighty army traveling in its 
strength. And they marched shoulder to shoulder, arro¬ 
gantly, cheering themselves with this boastful song. 

And it was good to swing along in my box to the rhythm 
of their lusty singing. 


And lo, when the Amalekites heard the thunder of their 
marching and saw the fierceness of their aspect, they feared 
greatly. And they sent an embassage to the children of 
Israel, saying: “ Go not across our fields, we pray you, 
but take the way round about the edge of the wilderness. 
Behold, it is an open way, and easy, to the land whither 
Israel doth travel. Trample not the corn, we beseech you, 
nor break the vines of our planting on which we and our 
little ones depend for sustenance.” 

Yet would not Israel hearken, because they thought: 
“ Surely Yahweh will break a way for us through our 
enemies.” 

When the Amalekites saw that the children of Israel 
turned not back, but trampled the fields of standing corn, 
certain of the braver came out arrayed for battle. And 
from the beginning they made havoc of Israel, putting the 
people to the sword. That mighty man Joshua stood 
ever in the forefront of the battle and slew many of the 
Amalekites until the going down of the sun. Nevertheless, 
Israel was sore discomfited before the might of Amalek. 

Now at evening Joshua stood before the chest that Aaron 
had made for me, and in his anger he cried out: “ O mighty 
Yahweh, thou brave guardian of sheepfolds, wherefore 


44 I? YAHWEH 

liftest thou not thine hand to defend the people who have 
fought courageously this day? Come out from thy box, 
and wield thy shepherd’s staff for the defense of Israel.” 

And as he strutted before the host, mocking me, his hand 
was moist with sweat and with the blood of those Amalek- 
ites whom he had slain. And the spear which he bran¬ 
dished slipped from his grasp and struck the chest. 

Now Joshua was a man of ready wit and knew how to 
turn a matter to account. When he saw that he had upset 
the chest, he pointed first to it and then to the Amalekites 
going toward their homes, and he cried aloud to the 
people: “ Hear, O Israel! Yahweh the god hath come out 
of the chest wherein he slumbered while the enemy smote 
us. Behold, he pursueth them even now. See ye not 
where he cleaveth a way through their ranks? Follow 
and slay without mercy. The army of Amalek is routed! 
Henceforth Yahweh neither slumbers nor sleeps. Who 
can stand before his fierce anger? ” 

Then Israel took up the song of Joshua and pursued 
the enemy through the gathering night. And the Amalek¬ 
ites were seized by a great terror, for it was not their custom 
to fight after the fall of darkness. And the word went forth 
among them: “ The god of Israel is a god of night and he 
is mighty in darkness. His power cometh on with the fail¬ 
ing of the sun and his destruction lurketh in the thick 
shadows. Save yourselves, O men of Amalek! ” And they 
fled in great confusion from Joshua and his company. 

And lo, when I saw the frenzy of Joshua and the blood- 
eagerness of the people, when I beheld their swords red 
with death and smelled the flesh of the slain, the lust of 
battle leaped up in me, and I bethought me of the time 
long past when I had made trial of my sword-skill with 
the gods beyond Canaan. And I said: “ Surely the love 
of strife is that deep thing in man’s heart that affordeth 


MOUNT OF MEETING 


45 

opportunity for his gods to become great. If I learn to 
smite more heavily than other gods, I shall be greater than 
they.” What mattered it that I had sat in herdsmen’s 
tents while shepherds bound the wounds of bleating 
lambs? 

That night Joshua and all Israel rejoiced greatly over 
the victory and offered me sacrifices of blood. 

But the battle was an offense to Moses, who had said 
at the first, “ Let us go peaceably along the sides of the 
fields that pertain to Amalek.” 

So it was that I became a god of battle. And thenceforth 
I clave to Joshua, walking ever by his side and holding 
my naked sword in mine hand. 


After their slaughter of Amalek, Israel fell back on the 
mountain to rest them and to recover from their wounds, 
which were grievous. And there was rioting in the camp 
from day to day because the warriors’ hands were flexed 
to the grasp of the sword and men chose to fight with 
their brethren rather than fight not at all. 

Then Moses enticed me from Joshua’s side and took me 
once again into the mountain. And he chided me concern¬ 
ing the battle and bade me lay aside my sword. 

Now there had come an abundance of quail into the 
region round about the camp of the Israelites. And while 
I was in the mount the people did eat of the quail until 
their bellies stuck out with fatness. But when they were 
surfeited, they came on a certain day to the cooking pits. 
And they complained to Aaron: “ Will there be never an 
onion nor a handful of leeks to go with these miserable 
ravens, nor even a piece of melon or a fig to eat with our 
common bread? And ought there not to be at least a skin 


I, YAHWEH 


46 

of wine to pass from hand to hand when we have eaten? 
Who is this Yahweh who doth pretend to be a god of 
plenty? ” 

Whereupon Aaron took his stand in the midst of the 
cooking pits and the bake ovens that he had made. And 
whenever one did turn a spit with a quail thereon, or 
did set the unbaked loaves into the ovens, Aaron would 
sign above the food with his fingers and murmur this syl¬ 
lable and that. And he said to the people, “ That there 
may be strength in the meat and health to the eater.” 

And thereafter he answered their complaint, saying: 
“ It is so, it is so, even as I thought. We be midway, or 
thereabout — a little more or a little less, it matters not 
— between where the realm of the Egyptian gods ceaseth 
and that of Yahweh taketh up. Yea, I am sure that we be 
in the space between, but a little more nigh to Egypt. 
Wherefore bring me your gold that ye got by craft from 
the Egyptians ere ye left, and I, who am skillful in this 
manner of thing, will make you a bull. And it may be, 
yea, certainly it will be, that when the Egyptians’ gods see 
their image of fruitfulness set up here in the camp they 
will overpass the bounds of their realm to succor us with 
a more delicate food.” 

And he made them a golden bull. 

But Joshua, knowing it to be an abomination, cried out 
against the bull and its worshipers, rallying the men of 
war and exhorting them: “ Let him that is for Yahweh, 
our god mighty in war, fall upon them that bow themselves 
to this idol and slay them utterly.” And three thousand 
men fell that day. 

So great was the clamor that Moses hasted to come down 
from the mount. And when we reached the wood that 
was at the foot of the mount we saw through its trees the 
idol that Aaron had made, and the raised altar and the 


MOUNT OF MEETING 


47 

slaughter. And so strong was mine anger when I beheld 
the bull that the trees of the wood swam in a mist before 
mine eyes and the heavens glowed with fire. 

Then I said unto Moses, “ Stand aside until I smite these 
rebels, sparing only thee.” For at that time I knew not 
that Joshua’s men had said, “ We are for Yahweh; let us 
defend his honor.” 

And Moses asked, “ How wilt thou destroy them? ” 

To which I answered, “ By making them smite one 
another.” 

And Moses said, “ It seemeth to me that they smite right 
manfully even now.” 

“ Yea,” I answered, “ but mark how here and there they 
grow weary. I must needs speak words of hate in the 
ears of them that are ready to cease.” 

And Moses asked, “Wilt thou in truth make a clean 
end of them, leaving neither root nor branch? ” 

And I said, “ I will leave not so much as a seed, for 
they are a stubborn and rebellious people who have dis¬ 
honored mine altar.” 

But Moses asked again, “ Wilt thou not have mercy on 
the aged or on babes at their mothers’ breasts? ” 

And I answered, “ I will not have mercy on a man in 
his dotage or show pity to an unborn child that hideth in 
the womb, for that I am a god of war who overcame the 
Amalekites.” 

Then Moses said: “ Hearken, O Yahweh, and I will 
tell of a matter that may stay thee of thy wrath. Once I 
did in anger slay a man of Egypt who had committed an 
offense against an one of these thy people. And behold, 
though dead, he is ever with me. For the death of an 
enemy whom one slayeth in hatred doth but change the 
place of strife from the world without to the inner thoughts 
of the slayer. Of bitterness and death are there many gods 


I, YAHWEH 


48 

among men. Would that the god of Israel might rule 
by the power of kindness alone. These be but ignorant 
and simple people with whom we deal. I know well their 
waywardness, for I have borne with them long. Now, 
therefore, let thine heart be gracious toward them and 
forgive them. Else blot me out with them, that thou may- 
est get thee back to the keeping of sheep.” 

Now at that moment I repented me of my wrath, yet not 
because Moses spake of the sheep. Wherefore I went 
among the people and stayed the hand of death. 

The children of Israel wandered long in the wilder¬ 
ness, going slowly toward the land of promise, for that 
they were ever at war. And much of the fighting was of 
their provocation, for they said, “ Yahweh, our god, is 
strong.” 

As for me, I halted among Moses, Aaron and Joshua, 
but mostly I inclined toward Joshua. 

Now Moses waxed weary and his years sat heavy upon 
him so that his legs trembled with his going. Yet when 
he walked before the people he commanded all his vigor 
that he might appear well in their sight. And though 
his eyes were dulled by the mists of age, the fire of his 
spirit flashed through them when he spake to the host. 

Thus did Moses lead the children of Israel in the wilder¬ 
ness. 

But when they drew near to the land of promise, he 
said unto me, “ I am not the leader for a new day.” 

Even now do I bethink me how few are the men I have 
known who possessed this wisdom in a world wherein the 
old men cling to their honors and authority, albeit the 
strength that won them has long since fled, and the cause 


MOUNT OF MEETING 49 

that bestowed them lies deep-buried in the ashes of 
memory. 

Wherefore when they came abreast of Mount Nebo 
and lay encamped at the foot of the mount, Moses stood 
in the midst of the people and said: “ This night I go into 
the mount. And it may be that I shall not return to you 
again. If I come not back, ye shall surely go on your 
way, and know that it will be well with me.” And the 
people mourned when he said, “ It may be that I shall not 
return.” 

Then Moses comforted them, telling them what they 
should do when they came to the land of their fathers, 
and saying, “ Let righteousness be your defense and the 
god, Yahweh, will be with you.” And he blessed them, 
and departed into Mount Nebo. But I would not that he 
go alone. 

And I said unto Moses as we climbed: “ How is it that 
thy wisdom at certain times hath so far surpassed the 
common wisdom of men? ” 

And Moses replied, “ It is as though a voice spake to 
me, telling me what is good.” 

And I said, “Yea, I have advised thee oft when thou 
wert at thy wit’s end.” 

But Moses said: “ It is a voice within that guideth me. 
And yet it ariseth not within, but cometh as if from afar 
off.” 

I was silent at this saying, and again I bethought me 
of the infinite mystery, as aforetime on the plains of Ur. 

In going up I would fain have stopped here or there, 
but Moses pressed me. His face was eager, though he 
faltered as he went. For in the light of the day he had 
espied a bush which, like that on Sinai, had seemed to 
burn. But when we drew nigh to the place which he 
sought he became sad exceedingly because the bush burned 


I, YAHWEH 


50 

not; nay, not by so much as a glint of moonlight on its 
leaves. And Moses bowed himself in the thick darkness 
before the bush. 

Waiting long what he should do, I was disquieted, for 
it was as though one came and went upon the mount, 
noiseless and unseen, but more closely felt than the heart¬ 
beat of him that runneth in a race. Wherefore mine eye 
turned from the black mount to the stars above it and 
mine ear listened for the sounds that faintly ascended 
from the valley. 

When Moses had been a long time withdrawn, he arose 
and came to me. And I saw that a great peace was on him. 

44 Get thee down to the host, Yahweh,” he said, 44 and 
deal kindly with thy people.” 

Then he returned and cast himself beside the bush, 
and I went down to the valley. 

Thereafter the people waited many days, for they 
thought: 44 It may be that Moses will come back from the 
mount.” And when he returned not we went forward, 
but slowly, keeping silence as we marched. And some 
cast backward glances. 

But Joshua fingered the edge of his sword and bur¬ 
nished his shield on the sleeve of his garment. And I saw 
that Aaron made a new pen, yet furtively, lest the people 
observe him. 


IV 


CONQUERING THE HOMELAND 

How when I looked over the goodly country of Canaan 
and saw the ancient landmarks known to me aforetime, 
even from the time of Abraham and through all the days 
when I had been god of his tribe, I was moved with fury 
against the Canaanites whose cities and vineyards lay spread 
on the plain. For which cause I laid my hand with strong 
purpose on the grip of my sword. And my people were 
filled with desire for the comforts of Canaan and burned 
with jealousy of the inhabitants thereof. 

Seeing which I made close alliance with that fury in the 
heart of man which also in these latter days bindeth the na¬ 
tions unto me. 

And certain of the tribes in mine army fell upon the 
cities of the plain and took some of them by the edge of 
the sword. But others went farther up the Jordan valley 
to enter the land by the north. 

Now the people of the south were less warlike than my 
tribesmen, and here and there they made place for Israel 
peaceably, the land being wide. Moreover, in course of 
time the Canaanitish men saw the virgin daughters of 
my people, that they were fair of face and had dove’s eyes. 
And they took many of them in marriage. Nor were the 

51 






I, YAHWEH 


52 

maidens loath. For they said: “ The men of this pleasant 
land are better to our liking than are they of our tribes, 
inasmuch as they be not ragged or uncouth. And they give 
us earrings of gold.” 

Nor did the Canaanitish women look unkindly upon 
my warriors, but when they gathered at the well with their 
water jars would whisper to one another: “ These men of 
Israel are lean and brown and clear of eye. They have a 
pleasant roughness that the sons of our cities have not. 
Their arms are like to bands of iron. Let us prove whether 
their hearts be softer than their palms.” 

When, therefore, I beheld that the land teemed with 
children having the fat bodies of Canaan and the dove’s 
eyes of Israel, and speaking in a broken tongue, I chided 
my people, saying, “ Remember ye not how Abraham 
made a covenant with me that his blood should not be 
mingled with the blood of other peoples? ” 

Whereto they answered: “Nay, nay! Fear not. Ours 
is a potent strain. In time to come one shall look in our 
offspring for the seed of the Canaanite and he shall find 
it not. Moreover, we have conquered this people with a 
soft word where a sword might have failed. Behold, the 
cities of the land are defended by walls that stand firm 
against assault. Should we complain if one dweller or 
another secretly open to us the gate that we may fight 
the battles of Israel within the shelter of a fair house or 
in a garden of cucumbers? ” 

But I said, “Ye and your little ones bow to the gods 
of Canaan as to me! ” 

And they made answer: “ Doth the eagle that flieth into 
the sun and bringeth his prey from the clouds take note 
when the husbandman emptieth the small dust of his 
measure to the sparrows that quarrel by the wayside? ” 
I was well pleased that they should so speak to me, though 


CONQUERING THE HOMELAND 53 

I grieved to see that they were so little forward to prove 
the greatness of their god at the point of a sword. 

Now those tribes that went into Canaan by the north 
fared not as did their brethren who had gone by the south. 
Here were fierce peoples who cared not that the women’s 
eyes were soft, but rather proved the men of Israel whether 
their arms were stout. Of the Israelitish blood they asked 
only to see it run red and soak their ground. 

In the hill country of the north dwelt a king named 
Sisera who was ruler over many tribes of Canaan. He was 
mighty with the sword and wily in battle. And he said 
to his warriors, “ Come, ye men of Sisera, let us thrust 
ourselves between the tribes of Israel and destroy them 
one by one.” Which thing he well-nigh accomplished, 
because of the divisions among my people. 

But there arose in Israel at that time a woman, Deborah 
by name, who said: “ Care ye not at all for the name of 
Yahweh, ye men of Israel, that ye strive each man for his 
own tribe and smite not together? Let us move against 
the Canaanites as one man to destroy them and their gods.” 
Wherefore she counseled Israel to set Barak, a mighty 
warrior, over all their hosts. Which thing they did. 

Now the men of Sisera and the armies of Israel came 
together nigh to Mount Tabor. Sisera and his men drave 
against Israel with chariots of war in number like the 
swarming of locusts on a field of new grain. And they cried, 
“ Who is Yahweh that we should fear him, O men of 
Sisera? ” 

And behold! Even as they lifted their hands to smite, 
the heavens were rent and the waters thereof were spilled 
out in a great flood, so that the chariot wheels turned 
not but mired to the hub, and the horses also sank above 
their hocks. 


I, YAHWEH 


54 

Then Israel, with arrows smiting like hail and spears that 
fell like a smother of snow, turned upon the army of 
Sisera. And the waters of the brook Kishon arose and 
carried away the chariots and horses and men of war. And 
there were none left but a handful that fled, and Sisera 
with them. 

And when I saw that fear was in the heart of Sisera the 
Mighty I hasted to go before him. And I came to the 
tent of a certain Kenite. And Jael, his wife, bade me 
welcome, knowing not that I was Yahweh. 

And I said to the woman: “ Cast out these images of 
the Canaanitish gods that be in thy tent. For Yahweh, 
the great god of Israel, who is mightiest among all gods, 
hath delivered Sisera and his host into the hand of Barak.” 

Now the Kenite’s wife sat upon a bale of merchandise 
with her hands clasped between her knees. And as she 
hearkened I marked that her eyes grew moist and looked 
far away. Then she questioned me, saying, “ Hath he a 
great beard that curleth upon his breast? Is he beloved 
of many women? And doth he tenderly cherish whom he 
loveth? ” 

And I was wroth and admonished her, saying: “ Dost 
thou so speak of Yahweh who hath honor above the gods 
of the Kenites? ” 

And Jael answered softly, “Nay, nay: but of Barak, 
that mighty captain whose hand hath exalted Yahweh.” 

Now it befell that Sisera in his flight came also to the 
tent of the Kenite and, entering in, sought rest, being 
wearied exceedingly. And Jael said, “ Lie down, my lord, 
and take thy sleep, for thou hast poured out thy strength 
manfully in the battle.” And she covered him tenderly 
with a garment of camel’s hair. 

Then while Sisera slept Jael took a great nail of iron 


CONQUERING THE HOMELAND 55 

and with a hammer she drave the nail through the temples 
of Sisera, fastening him to the ground therewith even as 
a tent cord is fastened. And she said, “ Because thou 
hast lifted thine hand against Barak, that great captain of 
Israel.” 

And she made request of me: “ Let it be told Barak, 
I pray thee, what his handmaiden hath done.” 

And coming to Barak where he rejoiced with the people 
and divided the spoil, I said unto him, “ The hand of 
Jael, wife to Heber the Kenite, hath been strengthened 
to slay Sisera.” 

Wherefore the report went about among all the peoples 
of Canaan: “ Great is Yahweh of the Hebrews, who hath 
made the woman Deborah valiant above all the men of 
Israel and hath strengthened Jael to prevail against Sisera.” 
And fear fell upon the people of the land, for they said, “ It 
is the strength of Yahweh that hath made one daughter of 
Israel better than an hundred men of Canaan.” 

But Barak said, “ Mine eyes shall look upon this Jael.” 
When I saw how Israel was established in the land I 
made a song which I bade my people sing: 

Nannar, the great god, sat on the white throne of the moon; 

And a silken cushion was at his back. 

In his hand was the lotus plant, 

And the root of the lotus was between his teeth. 

But Yahweh, who was little among the gods, took a sword 
in his hand, 

And with the sword hath he brought down kings, 

Yea, by the might of his power hath he cast out gods; 
Mighty gods of renown hath he cast through the door of 
the Kenite’s tent. 


56 I, YAHWEH 

Yahweh asked neither the lotus nor a cushion of silk, 

But he sought diligently after that which is deep in the 
heart of man. 

And he found the love of war and the joy that rageth furi¬ 
ously in battle. 

And by that which he found he hath exalted himself 
And set his people in a large place. 

Wherefore Sing praises unto Yahweh, ye to whom he divid- 
eth the spoil, 

And fear him, ye kings whom he hath cast down; 

Ye little gods, also, who flee before the breath of his 
wrath. 

Tremble, ye captains and ye mighty men whom the moth¬ 
ers of Israel put to flight. 

And the virgin daughters thereof destroy. 

Yahweh hath but smitten with his little finger; 

And how shall the nations endure when he doth smite 
with his fist? 

But when the people had learned the song, I bethought 
me: “ Mayhap their children’s children will forget, and will 
question the greatness of their fathers’ god.” 

Wherefore I wrote the words on dried lambskin. And I 
put the writing into the holy chest that it might be kept 
thenceforward with the book of Aaron, the soil from Mount 
Sinai and the willow rod that budded. 


When the men of Israel returned from following after 
Barak and beheld the pleasant houses of the Canaanites 
whose masters had been slain before Mount Tabor, and 


CONQUERING THE HOMELAND 57 

smelled the scent of almond trees and lilies, they grew faint 
with love. Wherefore they went every man where his wel¬ 
come was, and the tribes were scattered as before. Nor 
could I rouse them to war, albeit there were yet Canaanites 
for them to conquer. 

Then in my wrath against their sloth and dalliance I 
went to put an edge on my sword at the smithy of one 
Nabaal, who dwelt nigh to the borders of Philistia. 

And lo, there stood a man in the door of the smithy who 
held a handful of loose faggots with which he dealt in a 
manner that held mine eye. For behold, he brake certain 
of them with his fingers one by one. Then he took two 
cords and bound the faggots at either end, whereafter they 
brake not, though he twisted them powerfully in his hands. 

Greatly admiring, I questioned why he so did. 

And he said: “ These faggots be the tribes of Israel that 
serve the gods of the Canaanites and obey many masters. 
Wherefore, being so divided, they may be broken one by 
one. But if they be bound together by the service of one 
god and by obedience to one king, then shall they them¬ 
selves be one, and no nation shall break them.” 

I was angered that he should speak of a king, and I bade 
him take off the king’s cord. 

This he did; but having the faggots bound at one end 
and loose at the other he again brake them severally. 

Whereupon I demanded, “ Who art thou, and how didst 
thou find me? ” 

And he answered: “ I am Samuel, the seer. And behold, 
it was told me that the edge of thy sword was turned. 
Wherefore I bethought me: ‘ There is no smith in Israel. 
Peradventure Yahweh hath gone to the borders of Philistia, 
for there hath never been a god who would go with a dull 
blade among the children of men.’ ” 

And I wondered at the wisdom of Samuel. 


I, YAHWEH 


58 

Then the seer spake further: “ As I passed by the waters 
of Jordan on my journey hither there came a mighty wind 
that bent the stars from their courses, yet it brake not a 
reed by the riverside. And a voice cried: ‘ Holy, holy, holy! 
The whole earth is full of his glory! ’ 

“ Therefore I fell upon my knees and vowed that Israel 
should worship none but thee.” 

Now while Samuel so spake I was rebuked of many 
things, remembering Abraham and Moses and the glory 
that had been above the plain of Chaldea and on Mount 
Nebo. Nevertheless I bethought me, “ I did indeed lately 
pass over Jordan. Mayhap there was such a stir at my cross¬ 
ing.” 

And Samuel won many of the people to serve me alone. 

During those times it was my custom to go about freely 
among men, entering their houses to sit by the fire, and 
watching over their life in the fields. And they carried 
mine image about their necks and set it above the lintels of 
their doors. 

But on a certain day Samuel sought me out in a vineyard 
of grapes, saying: “ Is it in keeping with the dignity of a god 
to go about among the people, looking on their common 
toil and sitting like a wayfarer by their hearthstones? 
Should not a god have a wide and pleasant house of his 
own? ” 

And I answered him: “ Whether it be the way of dignity 
I know not. Nevertheless it is pleasant, and when there is 
peace in the land a god must find uses.” 

But the seer said: “ Nay, not so, for if thou make thyself 
the familiar of every common fellow the people will shortly 
despise thee and leave thee, and they will follow another god 
who keepeth himself above the easy approach of the multi¬ 
tude. Hearken now to me, for I have found the chest that 
Aaron made, and the writings, whereby I know the courtesy 


CONQUERING THE HOMELAND 59 

that is due thee. Come, dwell in the house that I have 
builded, and keep thy station nigh to the chest. And I will 
make it a throne of glory from which thou shalt rule. For 
this people will not be ruled save from a seat of power.” 

Thus it was that though I inclined toward free inter¬ 
course with men in the open country I went and dwelt in 
the fair house that Samuel built me. And Samuel sent 
word throughout the land, saying, “ Yahweh ruleth from 
Shiloh and he hath made Samuel his prophet to speak his 
word, because Samuel hath the ancient writings in his 
keeping.” 

Now the people liked not certain things that Samuel 
commanded of them, wherefore they complained: “ Our 
father Abraham came out of Ur on foot, and on foot our 
forebears toiled up from Egypt. But we, their children, 
have got us horses and chariots in the good land of Canaan. 
Shall we then go on weary feet even from Dan to Beersheba 
because the toes of our fathers were splayed in the desert? ” 

Samuel was wroth when he heard these words, and he 
cried: “ Will ye dishonor Yahweh with boastings of horses 
and chariots, ye rebels? Behold, the ancient times were 
good and the olden words are holy.” 

Then, in a loud voice, stamping with his feet and beating 
the air with his arm, he read from the book of Aaron. And 
because the people feared greatly they hastened to do ac¬ 
cording to the writings. 

There came a day when Samuel said to me: “ Thou hast 
delayed overlong to give us a king, Yahweh. Behold, the 
Philistines fall daily upon our tribes and there is none to 
deliver us because the men of war are scattered.” 

Then he took me out to choose a king. And as we stood 
beside the way there came a young man who sought his 
father’s asses that had gone astray. And lo, the youth was 
taller from his shoulders up than any man in Israel. 


60 I, YAHWEH 

Seeing the height of the young man, Samuel said, “ Surely 
thou hast chosen this one? ” 

But I said, “ Nay! ” And when he asked me why, I an¬ 
swered, “ Peradventure his strength measureth not to his 
height, for see! he is overlong in the neck.” 

But Samuel said, “ It will give him the greater dig¬ 
nity when he goeth among common men.” Then he ran 
to the young man and, breaking a vial of oil upon his 
head to anoint him, he cried, “ Yahweh hath chosen thee 
to be king over all Israel.” 

Thus were the people united under Saul the King to fight 
against the Philistines. 

Now I liked not Saul, because Samuel had said, “ Yah¬ 
weh hath chosen thee,” when I did but consider him. 
Wherefore I permitted an evil spirit from the desert to 
stand at his elbow and trouble his mind. 

But in after years, when Saul had been long vexed by the 
evil spirit, I found a youth, ruddy and well favored, in 
whom I took delight, whose name was David. A sweet 
singer was he and skillful to play upon the harp. There¬ 
fore, when Saul was beset by the spirit I sent David unto 
him to drive off the evil one with music. And because he 
was of an open countenance and kindly withal, David drew 
the hearts of them that stood about Saul. And he was bid¬ 
den to live in Saul’s house. 

There came, presently, a year when the Philistines har¬ 
ried Israel more than aforetime. And the men of Israel 
went forth to meet them. But Saul went not, because I had 
charged the evil spirit to trouble him with forebodings of 
death. Howbeit, the lad David went. 

And behold, a mighty champion of giant stature, Goliath 
by name, brake from the ranks of the Philistines, challeng¬ 
ing the men of Saul to send one of valor to contend with 
him. But there was none in Saul’s army who would stand 


6i 


CONQUERING THE HOMELAND 

before the Philistine. Then the lad David put Saul’s armor 
upon him and went forth, dragging the king’s great sword. 
And when I saw him go I feared greatly for his life. Where¬ 
fore I cried: “ Cast away the sword; thou couldst as well 
slay this Goliath with a pebble from the brook! ” 

And though I would have bidden him flee, he, hearing 
my word, cast away the sword and took from the water¬ 
course a small stone and, while Israel stood amazed, cast it 
from a sling, smiting the Philistine full upon the temple 
so that his skull was cracked. 

Then David took the great sword of Goliath, and laying 
it across the Philistine’s neck he set his foot upon the upper¬ 
most edge. And the sword, being exceeding heavy, 
needed little urging. And the head of Goliath was severed 
from his shoulders. 

Then the men of war cried: “ Behold, Yahweh is with 
David. A pebble in the lad’s hand is better than the ar¬ 
mor of Saul.” 

For this cause Saul was jealous of David, but seeing that 
the people clave to him, Saul gave David his daughter 
Michal to wife. 

Now the house of Saul was to the south, among the peo¬ 
ple of Judah. And David marked that the J udeans clave to 
him the more because of Saul’s daughter. Wherefore, in 
an appropriate time, he took him a wife from the north 
also. And in the years that followed he married diligently 
both northward and southward; but eastward and west¬ 
ward he married not for that the land lay narrow that way. 

And it came to pass when Saul died, and Jonathan his 
son with him, that David reigned in their place. And all 
the people rejoiced to have him king, both for the reason 
that he had slain Goliath and because of his diligence north- 


6$ I, YAHWEH 

ward and southward. For in all parts of the land it could 
be said, “ We have a daughter wedded to the throne/’ 

From that time forward all Israel knew that I had set my 
seal upon David’s brow. Aye, and the kings and nations 
round about knew and trembled, for I made him mighty in 
war so that he widened the land and subdued nations 
along the borders. Neither was there a king like to him 
when he came to the fullness of his age. By the might of his 
power he commanded obeisance of many princes and of 
their captains and their men of war. 

Then I walked with a wide and ringing step, feeling con¬ 
tempt for the gods whose people we chastened. 

Yet even in my triumph I foresaw not how many nations 
would own me god, nor how gladly the people of the latter 
days would obey my warlike will. 

And when David was gathered to his fathers, Solomon, 
his son, whom the wife of Uriah the Hittite had borne unto 
him, reigned in his place. For Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, 
had said, “ Sore grieved am I that the royal city is slow 
to honor the king with a gift while the daughters of the 
land northward and southward do so honor him.” And 
for Jerusalem’s sake she gave him Solomon. 

Solomon grew to be a man exceeding wise, and apt to 
trade. He sent his merchantmen abroad, who returned 
to Jerusalem, the royal city, with the goods of many lands. 
Moreover, to his hand lay the tribute moneys which David 
had exacted from subject princes. Therewith he built 
palaces and cities, adorning them richly forasmuch as he 
was a lover of the arts. But greatest of all his works was 
the house which he set up for me in Jerusalem. 

Then I walked through the whole domain, meting its 
length and its breadth and fetching a compass round about. 

And I said to the people: “ What lieth between the land¬ 
marks that are to the eastward and westward and to 


CONQUERING THE HOMELAND 63 

the northward and southward is holy land. And ye are a 
people of most holy and precious blood. For ye are my 
peculiar nation whom I have established for the glory of 
my name and for mine honor among all the nations of men 
that are on earth.” 

And I laid aside my sword, albeit in an accessible place, 
and with cleansed hands and garments took up mine abode 
in the fair temple that Solomon had built. 

Thereafter I made yet another song for the people: 

Yahweh, the great god, dwelt of old in the heavens. 

He sat upon a cloud 

And rode upon the wings of the wind. 

The sun was a cushion at his back 

And the moon lay upon the steps of his throne. 

Chaldea’s vine was a circlet for his brow, 

The lotus of the Nile a carpet for his feet; 

He drew the fine wool of Akkad over his knees. 

Nor was there any god like to him in all the earth. 

When Yahweh looked down from his seat in the heavens 
He beheld the temples of Chaldea, 

The abodes of the little gods that were honored in Ur. 
He despised the earth-god who drave the plow, 

And the pale god, Nannar, who reached for the moon 
that Yahweh spurned with his foot. 

Yahweh chose Abraham, the shepherd king, for his own, 
And Sarah, a princess, in whose womb a nation slept. 
And he led them forth of Ur with a high hand, while 
the gods wondered. 

Nor did any god think to stay his hand. 

In Egypt Yahweh rebuked the gods of the Nile, 

The mighty Osiris and Set, 

Chief gods of the life-giving waters; 


64 i, yahweh 

Yahweh chastened them sore 

And drowned their people in the sea. 

He overthrew the horse and the rider, 

Even them that trusted to their chariots of iron 
And boasted themselves of ... . 

But even as I was writing this song, resting mine arm 
against the traveling throne of Aaron’s craftsmanship, 
which Solomon had brought into my temple, behold! the 
pillars of the temple were shaken and the house was filled 
with smoke, and the lightnings played round about. 

Then I saw that the beams of the ceiling were parted 
above mine head. And lo, the stars rained from the sky 
upon the four quarters of the earth. And from one end 
of heaven a voice cried, “ Holy, holy, holy! ” Whereto 
an answer came from the other end of heaven, “ The whole 
earth is full of his glory.” 

And although this matter so happened that I knew not 
whether to call it dream or truth, I was disquieted thereby. 

And I said: “ Would that Abraham were nigh, or Moses, 
who were more familiar with matters of this kind! Aye, 
or even Samuel, the seer.” 

But I looked toward my sword that hung upon the wall, 
and the sight of its keen edge gave me comfort. And I be¬ 
thought me that peradventure some god from afar, whom 
I knew not of, had joined with the gods round about to 
show me honor in my new house because he feared me. 

Aye, doubtless it was so. 

Nevertheless, I went and sat beneath where the sword 


was. 


Y 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 


It came to pass after many generations that I, being in the 
chest that Aaron had made, which lay behind the curtains 
of the sanctuary within the temple, did hear in the depth 
of night a murmur that seemed to come from close at hand. 
This I counted strange, for none might enter the dwelling 
place that the priests had built for me save only the high 
priest, and he but once a year on the day of atonement 
when reconciliation was made with blood for the sins of 
the people. And I cried out, saying, “ Who is this that 
approacheth the holy place to profane it? ” 

Then he that had murmured did laugh. And again I 
cried, “ Who art thou? ” 

Yet answered he not, but did the rather question me, 
saying, “ Art thou well content, Yahweh? ” 

And when I answered him “ Yea,” he questioned me 
further, saying, “ Dost thou know how it fares with thy 
people while thou best here in this gloom? ” 

Then, inasmuch as he spake of the gloom of the sanctuary 
as though it were some ordinary darkness, I made answer, 
rebuking him: “ I who am the god abide here in the seclu¬ 
sion and honor that do befit my station. Be there not 

6 5 






I, YAHWEH 


66 

priests and high officers that minister to the needs of the 
people? ” 

And the voice replied as though from some more remote 
distance: “ Yea, verily, thou blind and inaccessible god, 
priests there be and high officers that do eat up the sub¬ 
stance of the poor; and there is none to succor them.” 

Perplexed, I inquired then who were the poor and of 
what they had need, for since the days when we were es¬ 
tablished in Canaan there had been no lack of bread. 

But he that spake with me, thinking I did but mock him, 
gave mocking words in return: “ If thou couldst come out 
of thy box, O Yahweh, then would I show thee.” For he 
doubted not that my shrine held me fast. Nor did I, Yah¬ 
weh, know, whether I should still be able to go forth of it. 
Yet was it not the chest, but only the rolling chants of the 
priests that held me. And here was a man who spake with 
authority, even as had Moses, albeit more roughly. Essay¬ 
ing then to leave the chest, I found that I was able; and I 
passed out of the sanctuary into the twilight of early morn¬ 
ing. 

And behold! Neither in sanctuary nor court found I 
any man. And thinking myself blinded by the half-light 
after my sojourn in darkness, I cried aloud, “ Where is he 
that a moment ago did vex me from his hiding place beside 
the chest? ” 

And a voice from afar answered: “ I am nigh to Bethel. 
And though I did bespeak thine ear, I doubted at the first 
whether thou couldst indeed hear me.” And he said 
further: “ If thou hast found a way through box and cur¬ 
tain, delay not to come to me. I shall await thee at the way- 
side altar which thou didst frequent of old time when thou 
wert free to come and go.” 

Nor did I delay. And when I drew near to Bethel I be¬ 
held a man rough and wild-looking. Then did I marvel 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 67 

greatly over the authority with which so uncouth an one 
had spoken, even as I questioned by what means he had 
returned so quickly from my sanctuary. Yet because I was 
greatly amazed I inquired only, “ Did no man tell thee 
that it is death to enter the holy place, save for the high 
priest? ” 

Whereto he answered: “ Verily I entered not, but called 
on thee from this place. Yet, is life so sweet for us in Israel 
that one should fear death? ” 

Then I charged him plainly that he tell his name and 
station, if so be he still desired that I go with him. And he 
answered, “ I am Amos, a herdsman of Tekoa.” 

And I felt that it was good to be out of the chest and with 
Amos. 

But Amos said: “ Let us walk through the city to the 
market place and there await the breaking of the day. 
Then shalt thou see thy people going about their hard 
tasks, that the kings and priests may live softly, and thou 
shalt see the injustices that thy people suffer.” 

And even as he spake I bethought me that it would be 
good to see the light show at the edge of the horizon, and 
to watch the upspringing of the sun. Yet saw I neither of 
these things for the buildings of the market place that did 
hem us in. And I spake of it unto Amos, but he replied 
only, “ If so be it irks thee that thou see not the sun at his 
rising, think on those in the city who may not go forth 
even to see his shining at noonday.” 

And I marked this saying, though it astonished me not, 
for I thought it did but refer to my priesthood; and I said, 
‘‘Nay, Amos, they who tend the lamps might consider thy 
full sun too sharp a glare.” 

Yet I liked not these walls that extended on this hand 
and on that. And I bethought me that it would be well to 
go forth to field and vineyard and see the people at the tasks 


68 I, YAHWEH 

which Amos said were hard, and mayhap return to Tekoa 
and learn how the sheep of Amos fared. 

But Amos answering me said: “ Even so, Yahweh. The 
light is friend to justice and righteousness, yet they heed 
it not.” 

Now when Amos spake thus of justice and righteousness, 
I thought to draw him out. For had not Abraham called 
me a righteous god? Yet Amos was not like unto Abraham, 
nor might justice be the same in a city as it had been on the 
plain. And I asked, “ What meanest thou when thou 
sayest justice and righteousness? ” 

But Amos, mistaking me, answered: “ Small wonder 
that thou knowest not their names. There has been little 
enough of either in the land these many years.” 

Now as we spake together the market place was filled 
with sellers and buyers of many wares, and I would fain 
have watched their bargaining and examined their mer¬ 
chandise more nearly, but Amos drew me aside, saying, 
“ Justice I cannot show, but the fruits of injustice lie ripe 
on every hand.” 

Then Amos led me forth from the market place and 
down the narrow ways between houses, turning to this 
side and that, until we came to a place near the outer wall 
of the city where was a stone set in the ground and a hole 
in the stone near to the size of a man’s palm. Amos lifted 
the stone, saying, “ Look within.” 

And I stooped, but nothing could I see by reason of the 
brightness around me and the exceeding darkness of the 
cave below. Amos bade me look again, saying, “ Hast 
thou the eyes of one who sitteth all day behind the temple 
curtain and canst not discern what passeth in the blackness 
of this cave? ” 

Then marked I a pale hand that groped along the 
wall. And I said unto Amos: “ Behold, there appeareth 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 69 

the likeness of a hand that feeleth along the wall. But if 
there be a man fallen into this pit, why crieth he not aloud 
that they who walk at large along the city wall draw him 
up? ” 

And Amos replied: “ Didst thou not lately inquire of me 
concerning justice? And said I not that thou shouldst learn 
by beholding injustice? Know, then, that this man in the 
pit was the owner of a fair olive yard which the king 
coveted. But the man would not sell his olive yard to the 
king, for he said, ‘ Behold, it was my father’s yard and the 
possession of his fathers before him for many generations! * 
Therefore, because he would not part with his yard, the 
king took it by force and cast him into this dungeon. And 
there be none who will deliver him lest they be thrown 
into a like place.” 

And Amos placed the stone again on the mouth of the 
cave. And I said, “ Nay, but let there be a little space 
left uncovered.” 

Therefore he put the stone as I desired. And he said, 
“ By this token I know that thou art not altogether as thy 
priests.” 

Then Amos spake unto the doorkeeper of a wide and 
pleasant house hard by, and the man took his key and let 
us into the courtyard, and we beheld how tiring women 
dressed the hair of a young maiden there in the cool garden. 
This maid was exceeding fair. Her hands and feet were 
like unto those of a little child, and the skin of her face was 
as the moon for the beauty of its whiteness. Jeweled rings 
were upon her fingers and bracelets of cunningly wrought 
gold upon her arms. Her garments were purple and fine 
linen. And even as the tiring women dressed her hair and 
anointed her skin with oils and perfumes, two slaves stood 
beside and moved the air with fans of peacock feathers, lest 
flies be drawn by the fragrance and weary her. 


I, YAHWEH 


70 

And I said unto Amos, “ For comeliness and delicacy can 
any of the nations round about compare with this my peo¬ 
ple who nurture their maidens after this manner? ” 

But Amos spat upon the ground of the walk that was 
about the courtyard, and in going out his feet spurned the 
threshold of the door. 

Then he led me beyond the gate to a cluster of beggars’ 
hovels that leaned against the city wall, and we lifted the 
curtain of a door and entered into a house exceeding poor. 
And the darkness within was like that of the pit, for the 
house had no opening save only the entrance. But when 
mine eyes were eased from dazzling after the brightness of 
the sun on the city wall, I beheld a young child that lay 
upon the rushes of the floor, and a woman bowed in a 
corner of the room, praying. The skin of the child’s face 
was stretched tight across the bones, and his eyes burned 
in the darkness with the heat of fever. 

Then the rough man Amos said softly, “ This is the child 
of him who lieth under the stone of the dungeon.” 

And the woman, seeing me not, said, in praying: 
“ Hearken, Yahweh, and deliver this my child from his 
fever and from the pain of his wasting. Then shall he rest, 
and I with him, in Sheol where no hunger is nor memory 
of sorrow.” 

Then did I lean over the bed and make to gather the 
dying lad in mine arms, even as I had soothed the lambs 
of old time; but Amos restrained me, saying, “ Shall this 
child be held in the bosom of one who is covered with stains 
of blood? ” 

And I looked and saw that my garments were stiff with 
the blood that my priests were wont to sprinkle upon mine 
altars to atone for the sins of the people. 

Then Amos lifted the curtain of the door and we went 
forth, and he called me to look upon the ragged children 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 71 

of the streets who fought with the dogs for scraps of food in 
the refuse. And he said: “ The maiden thou sawest in the 
garden was one. Behold, these are many. How comely 
and delicate are thy children! ” 

And as we went away from that place I drave off the 
dogs with the rod of Aaron that was in my hand. 

And Amos said, “ Mayhap there is hope for Israel, if 
so be Yahweh is still a god of compassion.” 

Then Amos led me back to the market place and we 
stood before the booth of one who sold shoes. And there 
came a woman with her handmaiden, and from among his 
wares she singled out a pair with jewels set cunningly in 
the heels, and he who sold said that they were the work of 
the craftsmen of Babylon, albeit Amos whispered that they 
were perchance Hittite. And the woman asked the price 
thereof, which was very great, and she said she would give 
half; and when the tradesman said nay, she was sorrowful, 
for she had not money to pay the whole. But the merchant, 
looking on the handmaiden and seeing that she was desir¬ 
able, said to the woman: “ Give me thine handmaiden in 
exchange, for even as thy soul desireth the beauty of these 
shoes so doth my soul yearn for the beauty of the maiden. 
For behold, I am no longer a young man, nor is my heart 
easily warmed.” 

Thereupon the woman went away in strong indignation, 
for the child was pleasing to her and, it might be, of greater 
money value than the shoes. But Amos said, “ Abide here, 
Yahweh; haply we have not seen the end of this matter.” 

And it came to pass that the woman returned and said, 
“ Give me the shoes and have thine own price.” And she 
thrust the child into his booth, and the maid moaned 
within the booth, crying: “ Doth not Yahweh, the god, 
see this thing that is done to me? Is his ear closed that he 
cannot hear the cry of my shame? ” 


I, YAHWEH 


7* 

And as I fingered the rod of Aaron, musing whether I 
should strike down first the merchant or the woman lest 
she hide in her house and be lost to me, Amos hurried me 
from the market place. 

Then he led me to the principal gate of the city, where 
a judge heard the causes of the people. And there came 
one who had a just cause against his neighbor. And the 
two men stood before the judge and stated each his case. 
And the one who had the good cause was poor, and pleaded 
humbly, while he that defended himself against it was 
rich, and made great show of anger, saying: “ Behold, this 
man is a liar and a son of iniquity. If thou couldst know 
how evil is his heart then wouldst thou understand the 
justice of my cause. But alas, the matter is not fit to be 
spoken aloud before these good and upright men who 
stand by awaiting thy further judgments.” 

And he winked with his eye. Then the judge coun¬ 
seled him, “ Draw near, and let the words be whispered 
privately into mine ear, that the minds of those who stand 
by be not offended.” 

Then the man drew nigh and laid his mouth against the 
judge’s ear. And Amos said, “ Mark well, Yahweh.” And 
being so warned, I did mark that the man dropped a purse 
upon the knees of the judge. And the judge covered it 
quickly with his hand. And with his hand hidden in the 
folds of his garment, he stood up and gave judgment in 
favor of the rich man, bidding the officers scourge the 
poor man and deliver into the hand of his enemy what 
few goods remained to him. 

And again as I questioned which to smite first, the judge 
or the rich man, Amos drew me away. Whereafter until 
evening he continued to show me the abuses that were 
in the city. 

As the sun went down, we came to a pleasant pavilion 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 73 

in a garden of roses, and through the grating that was on 
the door we saw a woman sleeping on silken cushions on 
a bed of ivory, and the air from within the pavilion was 
heavy with the perfume of musk. 

And I asked Amos, “ Is this fair-appearing woman per¬ 
chance ill, inasmuch as she sleepeth while the sun is but 
going down? ” 

And he answered: “Nay, not so. Enter thou, and stand 
in the shadow of a curtain for a little season, since curtains 
irk thee not.” And I knew that he chided me still for 
the sanctuary where I dwelt in darkness. Yet I was not 
wroth with Amos. 

Even as I stood behind the curtain there was a knocking 
without the door, and a handmaiden came with a lighted 
lamp and opened the door, and a man whispered to her 
as though he were ashamed of the thing which he said. 

And the handmaiden questioned him, saying, “ Hast 
thou brought gifts in thine hand? ” 

Whereto he answered, “ See, I have here a purse of fine 
leather and a bale of silk.” 

Whereupon the woman who slept roused herself and 
called out to him, “ Hark thee, my friend, art thou not 
Judah, the tentmaker?” 

And he answered, “ I am he.” 

And the woman said: “ Let the purse and the silk remain 
under thine own hand. But I have seen in the garden of 
thine house a youth for whom my soul longeth. Now, 
therefore, bring the lad to me this night and on the morrow 
return thou unto me.” 

But the man cried out and said: “ It may not be, for he 
is my son, the only child of Leah, who is dead, and lo these 
many years I have been to him both father and mother.” 

Therefore the woman said, speaking in anger: “ Begone, 
thou base stitcher of herdsmen’s tents, lest I, who have 


I, YAHWEH 


74 

stilled the passions of men of war, have thee beaten through 
the streets.” 

Then I saw the woman close the door and bolt it against 
him, and I went forth unto Amos, but Amos said, “ Stay 
yet a moment, O Yahweh, for it may be that this matter 
endeth not here.” 

And it came to pass that the man returned, saying, 
“ Hast thou no other price? ” 

And the woman answered, “ None.” 

And the man said, “ Then let it be thy way, for I am 
sick with love.” 

When I would have smitten the twain as they stood there, 
Amos again stayed my hand, saying: “ These two do but 
follow what they have seen from their youth. All Israel 
doeth after this manner.” 

“ How then shall I make an end of evil? ” cried I. 

And Amos said, “ Strike first at the root of evil, in the 
courts of thine own sanctuary.” 

Then I minded me that Amos was but a herdsman, and 
I inquired of him whence came his so mighty zeal for 
righteousness and justice within the city. 

And Amos answered: “ Neither am I prophet nor proph¬ 
et’s son. But one night while I kept the flocks on the 
hills of Tekoa there came to mine hearing a voice from 
afar off which seemed also to come from within, and it cried: 

‘ Shall all good perish from the earth? Behold, O Amos, 
thou deliverest the sheep from the mouth of the wolf and 
the paw of the bear, but who will deliver this people from 
their iniquities?’ And since that night, O Yahweh, I 
find no rest because of the abominations that are done in 
the land. 

“ Now, I know that thou art the god of Israel from of 
old. Thou hast been a god of plenty in peace and a stout 
defender in war. People have looked to thee for bountiful 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 75 

harvests and for succor in time of danger; but they have 
not asked of thee the way of righteousness nor inquired 
at thine altars concerning justice. 

“ Behold, here am I to speak in thy name. Let me speak 
clearly of these matters to thy people Israel.” 

And looking hard upon this stern man I questioned 
within me whether he was not indeed a prophet, albeit he 
disclaimed the name. Therefore did I promise to take 
his request under advisement. 

And Amos instructed me in matters of righteousness 
and justice even as Moses had taught me upon Mount 
Sinai. 

Thereafter I returned to the sanctuary, for in all the 
land there was no place other where I might enter even 
as a guest. 

And when I came to mine abode, I saw that the priests 
had completed the evening sacrifice in the outer court. 
A slime of blood was on the pavement, fat burned upon 
the altar, and the stench of the day’s slaughter was in the 
air. As I looked over the courtyard of mine house, I be¬ 
thought me of the man within the dark cave and of his 
sick child that lay on the bed of rushes, and of those other 
children who scrambled among the dogs for scraps of rotted 
food, and I heard the voice of the unjust judge uttering 
oppression, and the cry of the handmaiden who was sold 
for a pair of shoes. And I went heavily for the shame that 
weighted me. 

Before many days had passed there was held a feast that 
gathered my people together from the country round about. 
And in the morning of the day of feast I heard a lamb 
bleating; and behold! he that carried it into my courts was 
the seller of the shoes. And I saw that as he delivered it up 
he whispered into the priest’s ear that whereat the servant 
of mine altar did laugh evilly. 


I, YAHWEH 


76 

Then came the wicked judge, and he cast a piece of silver 
at the feet of the priest; and the priest bowed low before 
the judge. Yet when he saw that it was but one piece of 
silver he murmured and said, “ Is this, then, the tithe of 
that which thou hast taken at the gate of the city since 
last thou didst appear in Yahweh’s house? ” At which 
saying the anger of the judge was kindled; nevertheless 
he cast another coin on the flagging, and the priest con¬ 
tended with him no more, but bowed himself to pick it up. 

Whereat my wrath blazed forth so that I smote upon the 
lintel of the door. And the doorposts shook, and the court 
of the sanctuary reeled like a drunken man. The cunning 
work was loosed from the roof of mine house and, falling, 
cut the priests about the head. Coals from the altar fire 
were scattered over the pavement so that the feet of many 
were burned. And the priests and they that had come to 
worship fled away. 

Then, when I beheld the poor running with the richly 
appareled, the children and aged keeping pace with the 
strong, that justice which Amos had evoked spake within 
me and I said: “ Hold thine hand, Yahweh! Many of these 
who be burned are innocent of evil. They have but come 
to worship after the manner of their fathers.” 

Obedient to this thought I stayed mine hand. For a 
god doeth well to remember how close is humanity bound 
together, good man to evil, lest the innocent suffer with 
the guilty when justice is done. And it is hard to avoid 
this offense. 

Nevertheless, my courts were cleansed that same night. 

Soon thereafter I spake to Amos in Bethel, saying: “ Be¬ 
hold, thou knowest what thoughts thou hast put into my 
keeping. Speak then, I charge thee, to priests and them 
that worship, even to this whole land that is mine. Cleanse 
the soil of its evil and purge Abraham’s blood. Let thy 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 77 

words roar like the thunder and strike like lightning. Spare 
not iniquity and show no mercy to the wicked, but say 
that I will destroy them utterly if they repent not. Then 
quiet thy voice and tell them that this my people and this 
my land shall be holy among the lands and peoples of 
earth, if they will but turn their hearts unto righteousness.” 
Therefore Amos lifted up his voice and cried: 

Hear this that Yahweh speaketh, 

O ye that swallow up the needy and poor of the land. 

For thus saith Yahweh: 

41 For the transgressions of Israel will I not turn away the 
punishment thereof, 

Because they sell a boy for an harlot 
And a girl for a pair of shoes. 

The judges turn aside justice from the meek 
And take bribes in the judgment place, 

And a man and his father go unto the same light woman. 

I hate, I despise your feast days. 

And I cannot abide the smell of your solemn assemblies. 
Though ye offer me your burnt offerings and your meat 
offerings, 

I will not accept them; 

Neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat 
beasts. 

Take away from me the noise of your songs. 

For I will not hear the melody of your viols. 

But let justice roll down as waters and righteousness as 
a mighty stream. 

And if not, 

I will turn your feasts into mourning 
And all your songs into lamentations. 


78 I, YAHWEH 

And I will bring sackcloth upon all loins, 

And baldness upon every head; 

And I will make thy mourning as the mourning for an 
only son, 

And the end thereof as a bitter day. 

Though thou dig into the grave, 

Thence shall my hand take thee. 

And though thou climb up to heaven. 

Thence will I bring thee down. 

Now the chief men of Bethel rebuked Amos for the 
vehemence of his prophesying, speaking for all: “ O thou 
seer, go flee away into the land of Judah and there eat bread 
and prophesy there. But prophesy not again any more 
here, for it is the king’s chapel and the king’s court.” 

Thereafter I gathered about me many who were zeal¬ 
ous in the cause of righteousness and justice. These men 
spake my will to the people. 

There was Micah, who hated evil and rebuked it even as 
Amos had done, saying: 

“ Wherewith shall I come before Yahweh and bow my¬ 
self before the most high god? Shall I come before him 
with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? 

“ Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams or 
with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn 
for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of 
my soul? 

“ He hath showed thee , O man, what is good; and what 
doth Yahweh require of thee but to do justly and to love 
kindness and to walk humbly with thy god?” 

From that time forth I, Yahweh, and the prophets who 
spake for me were exceedingly zealous for righteousness. 
If we found any who did not according to the right, we 
smote him. And many who did not themselves prophesy 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 79 

were likewise very ready to smite here and there with both 
hands among the wicked. The zeal which I had formerly 
shown in warfare I now directed toward the chastisement 
of the sinner. Those who were but slight offenders com¬ 
plained of the weight of my hand. Nevertheless, I forbore 
not to punish them. 


Then it came to pass that one of my prophets, Hosea 
by name, bethought him and questioned me, saying, “ Is 
it well to smite always, Yahweh? ” 

And I answered, “ It is well indeed, for we must clear the 
land of all offenders, and evil goeth not out of a man save 
by smiting.” 

But Hosea said: “ Wouldst thou fell a tree because of 
a cankerworm that gnaweth its leaf? If thou slayest all 
sinners, who shall be left in the land to replenish it? ” 

And I said, “ The good men, though they be but few.” 

Then Hosea sought to instruct me after the manner of 
Amos, saying, “ What time thou slayest an evil man, that 
which is good in him also goeth down into Sheol.” 

Now it is well for a god to bear with his prophets; yet 
not in all things. Therefore, seeking a word that would 
make an end of the matter, I said to Hosea: ‘‘There be 
good men who keep my laws and evil men who break them. 
I know none between. Get thee hence and ponder this 
saying.” 

But Hosea made answer: “ Doth not the secret of right¬ 
eousness and sin lie deeper than the law, even in the heart 
where evil striveth with the good? I shall straightway get 
me hence as thou, Yahweh, hast commanded; only do thou 
come with me. Let thine own seeing make an end of my 
too much speaking.” 

Wherefore I bethought me of the things that Amos had 


8 o 


I, YAHWEH 


shown me in the city; but Hosea led not to the market place, 
nor yet to the seats of judgment, but forth through the 
gates to his own house. For his house was on the plain. 
And lo, there was a woman asleep with her head on the 
doorstep, whose appearance was in all respects like to that 
of such as paint their faces to beguile men for hire. 

Nevertheless when I drew my sword to smite, for that 
she was evil and I was wroth that such should lay her head 
on the prophet’s threshold, Hosea stayed my hand. Where¬ 
upon, remembering that he had spoken compassionately 
of sinners, I set myself to learn whether some unworthy 
entanglement might not be the reason therefor, saying, 
“ Who is this woman whom thou permittest to defile thine 
house? ” 

And Hosea made answer, “ She is my wife who hath 
hired herself to many lovers, to my shame and confusion.” 

“Ah!” cried I, “thou wouldst reserve to thyself the 
avenger’s right. It is fitting.” And I offered him my sword. 

But Hosea bent over the woman and wiped her brow 
with his prophet’s mantle. “ None shall smite,” said he. 
“ She hath been smitten overmuch already. Said I not 
that I would show thee a thing? Hearken — ” 

From the woman’s swollen lips her voice came tremu¬ 
lous, saying out of her dream: “ Pity my weakness and 
tempt me not so, I pray thee, for though I am weak and 
froward by nature, yet would I keep myself from this sin 
for Hosea my husband’s sake.” 

And I said: “ Ha! Thou hast misnamed her an harlot, 
Hosea. See how her dream doth bear testimony that she 
hath resisted what thou wert too ready to believe of her.” 

And I was glad that I had not harmed the woman in my 
haste. But even while I chided him, she laughed and 
muttered, “ Pour wine into my goblet that is empty, my 
lover, for I would make merry with thee this night.” 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 8l 

Hearing which, I was the more angry because her first 
mutterings had betrayed me into softness. And I said: 
“ Thou wert right in thy judgment, Hosea, she is a woman 
of sin. One of us must smite. Choose whether thou or I.” 

He attended not, but answered: “ Hearken, Yahweh, 
and learn the whole of this matter. For the space of five 
years I lived with this woman. And in the second year she 
gave me a son in whom my soul found delight. 

“Now I had a friend, a goodly man; and all that he 
had was mine, and mine his — save only, I thought, this 
woman. 

“ Yet one night when I went abroad from mine house 
and returned speedily, I did see that which made my soul 
desolate as the valley of Baca where no verdure groweth 
nor ever the dew falleth from the dusty sky. And when, 
hating the mother, I sought comfort of the child I beheld in 
his face the image of my friend. 

“ Then in my grief and anger did I drive out the woman, 
and the child with her. Wherefore her name became a 
byword among the people. 

“ Thereafter on a day I passed through the strangers’ 
quarter of the city in the early morning. And I came to 
a mean inn kept for entertainment of the baser sort of 
travelers. Two men thrust a woman through the door into 
the street, where she lay wounded and moaning. Then 
knelt I beside her and lifted her head to the support of mine 
arm, and lo, I saw again the face of this woman, even as 
thou seest it now, defiled and pitiful. And I knew that I 
loved her as I had not loved before, so greatly was love 
strengthened by compassion. And I thought, ‘ It is I who 
cast her out that have brought her to this pitiable estate.’ 

“ Even so, in accusing myself, did I forgive her for that 
which she had done against me, and in love and pity I 
carried her to this mine house. And as I went it seemed 


I, YAHWEH 


82 

that my soul entered into communion with some infinite 
kindness that lieth round about us at all times, so that when 
the children of men do evil mercy faileth them not. Since 
that day have I cherished this woman in love, and it seem- 
eth that compassion hath sealed me its prophet to testify 
of love and turn the hearts of the people to kindness.” 

Thus spake Hosea; and I was moved by what he said, 
yet I made answer: “ Nonetheless, as now thou seest, kind¬ 
ness hath in the end not strength to win against evil. 
Wayward still, she doth ill requite thy love.” 

But Hosea replied: “ Nay, the measure of love is not 
what is won, but what one hath the disposition to give. 
Moreover, for the space of three years until yesternight she 
abode faithfully in mine house. Who can say that she 
may not yet return wholly? ” 

And I asked, “ Thinkest thou, then, that love is a remedy 
for evil? ” 

To which he made answer, “ Whether for evil I know 
not; nevertheless, it is indeed a remedy for him who 
loveth.” 

I pondered what the man Hosea had learned out of his 
bitter sorrow and out of his pity. And the woman made 
moan again, and she cried: “ Woe is me that I have brought 
pain anew to mine husband. Smite, O Yahweh, and make 
an end. So shall thy wrath be agent of mercy to deliver 
me from sinning.” 

And Hosea said, “ Hearest thou, Yahweh, how the good 
in this woman repenteth of her sin even as she sleepeth? ” 

Then I reasoned with him: “ Mayhap. But mark you, 
her own lips bade me smite, and if I smite not, what dost 
thou purpose to do with her when she waketh? ” 

He answered, “ I love her and seek to shelter her against 
the evil that so readily besets her.” Whereupon he leaned 
over to ease her head that lay on the doorstep. And, waking 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 83 

under the touch of his hand, she hid her eyes in the dusty 
hem of his mantle and wept. 

Wherefore I went softly from their house. 

Thereafter, because Hosea had showed me that which 
pertained to no other god — a compassion attributed to 
none that were in Egypt or otherwhere — and had given 
me to look deep into the mystery of man, where, beyond 
reach of Moses’ law, good and evil contend, I charged my 
prophets that they speak to the people of lovingkindness 
and that they destroy not the precious wheat with the chaff. 
When I had so done I felt an approval upon me such as 
Hosea had known at the redemption of his wife. The sky 
above me was more like to that which had smiled on me 
what time I walked with Abraham on the plains. 


After Solomon, the kingdom of David was divided be¬ 
tween Judah and Israel, northward and southward, with 
a line between them and two kings to rule. And, foras¬ 
much as bitterness between the kings’ houses bred strife 
and there arose no king to marry northward and southward, 
the division continued. Nor could the two armies move 
as one against the enemies of both. 

And it came to pass that Ahaz, King of Judah, went out 
in the cool of a morning to look to the water supply of 
Jerusalem. And while he walked beside the conduit that 
flowed from the upper pool through the field where the 
fullers were wont to bleach their cloth, Isaiah the prophet 
met him and said, “ Why dost thou walk here, my lord? ” 

And the king replied, “ I have come to look to the water 
supply, whether it will sustain a siege, for Pekah, who rul- 
eth over Israel, hath made a confederacy with Rezin, King 
of Damascus, and they are moving against me.” 


I, YAHWEH 


84 

Now the reason of the confederacy was this. Assyria lay 
to the north and east of Israel like to a lion crouching to 
spring. Wherefore Israel joined with Damascus, and said, 
“ Let us also engage Judah on our side. Then shall we 
three be stronger than Assyria.” But Ahaz looked not with 
favor on their plan and the rather sent presents to the 
Assyrian king, saying: “ Behold, I am thy friend, as thou 
knowest by reason of these gifts. Come not into the borders 
of Judah when thou dost chasten Israel, I pray thee.” For 
he feared the Assyrians more than he feared Israel and 
Damascus. 

Wherefore Israel and Damascus took counsel and said: 
“ Let us break Judah ere we go against Assyria, that there 
be none to smite us from behind. Moreover, we shall have 
tribute of her to sustain us and men of war to increase our 
armies.” 

Now these matters were known to Isaiah. Nonetheless 
he asked Ahaz, “ Hast thou done aught but look to the 
pools, O king? ” 

“ Yea,” answered Ahaz, “ I have sent letters to the Assyr¬ 
ians entreating that they come to mine aid, seeing that I 
hold not with Israel and Damascus.” 

Then spake Isaiah: “Thou hast done a great evil in 
turning against thy brethren of the house of Israel. Ye 
twain have one god, mighty to deliver. In seeking to 
Assyria thou hast opened the door to a lion, and he will 
enter in and possess thine house. Yet there is still a deliver¬ 
ance that might come to thee through faith.” 

Ahaz plucked at his garment and asked: “ Will the Assyr¬ 
ian know if I have faith? What can faith avail against an 
iron spear or a cloud of arrows? ” 

Then Isaiah charged him, “ Put away thy sins that have 
been many and seek humbly to thy god, and surely he will 
grant thee deliverance.” 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 


85 

But because the prophet spake of sin the king’s anger 
overcame him and he said, “ Thy manner of speech is for 
the temple and for a time of peace.” 

And Ahaz strode away lest Isaiah trouble him further. 

Now I had heard what things these two said and, clad as 
a wayfarer with a burden on my back and a staff in mine 
hand, I approached to the place where Isaiah stood gazing 
after Ahaz. And I said unto him, “ Instruct me, I pray 
thee, in this matter of faith, concerning which I did hear 
thee speak, for I would know the whole nature of it.” 

And Isaiah said: “ I spake to the king concerning Yah- 
weh and I do believe in him, for he is the god of this people 
and was our fathers’ god. But what is it to believe in Yah- 
weh? Is it not to fulfill the works of righteousness of 
which he spake in times past by the prophets? For the 
world hath been formed in righteousness and for the doing 
of it. Integrity availeth more to make a people secure 
than all the chariots of war. 

“ Therefore by faith do I mean that the nation which 
doeth righteousness diligently must wax great above all 
people. But this is only that part of faith which concerneth 
the selfish and slow of heart. Faith is more than this. Nor 
doth it wholly concern the god. For this is the greater 
part of faith — that a man choose rather to die for the thing 
that is good than to live by the acceptance of an evil. 

“ Many will die for faith in the time to come. And 
though the day of their victory tarry long, yet will it surely 
break.” 

Whereupon he recited for me this song that he had 
made: 

And it shall come to pass in that latter day 

That the mountain of Yahweh’s house 

Shall be established at the head of the mountains, 


86 


I, YAHWEH 


And shall be exalted above the hills; 

And all nations shall flow unto it. 

And many peoples shall say, 

“ Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain 
Of Yahweh, 

To the house of the god of Jacob; 

And he will teach us of his ways. 

And we will walk in his paths.” 

For out of Zion shall go forth the law, 

And the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. 

And he will judge between nations, 

And will decide between many peoples; 

And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, 

And their spears into pruning hooks; 

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. 

Neither shall they learn war any more. 

Now while he spake his face did shine; and a light came 
down from heaven and a light arose from the dust of earth, 
so that all nature appeared to burn with it. And the two 
lights joined. And the air moved as though disturbed by 
the winnowing of many wings. Then out of the light 
appeared the angel of death, who in swift passing put a 
mark upon Isaiah’s brow. 

Isaiah knew not of this thing. For he laughed and spake 
with me of how brightly the sun did shine, and gave me the 
common talk of the city. 

And I asked him, “ How is it that thou, who art of the 
king’s council, hast so learned of faith? ” 

And he answered: “ One night while men slept I stood 
on the housetop; and looking upon the stars I measured 
my life against the life of the nations of men who had lived 
and perished before me. I thought on those who had scat¬ 
tered the seeds of hope and had gathered therefrom the 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 87 

fruitage of despair, and on them that had labored well, 
whom death found naked at the end of their days. 

“ And while I considered these matters there came a 
voice thinly crying: ‘ What of the life of man, O son of man, 
whose days are like a vapor that bloweth across the moon? 
Yea, what of the life of man that breaketh off like the thread 
of a weaver’s shuttle? Hath it no continuance when his 
breath ceaseth, and is its meaning then gone forever? ’ 

“ And a voice from within me made answer: ‘ The just 
shall endure, even the upright man until the end of the 
years of time, and his faithful deeds unto the last genera¬ 
tion. Yea, though he be slain by the sword; yea, though 
he be consumed by fire; yea, though his ashes be scattered 
over the sea, yet shall he abide forever and by his doing 
shall all the families of earth be blessed.’ Since that night 
I do speak of faith to every man who will hearken.” 

And when we were come to the parting of the ways he 
bade me farewell, saying, “ The peace of Yahweh be with 
thee.” 

Now it befell not long afterward that I heard a clamor 
in the north. And behold, the Assyrian was in the land of 
Israel. Fear marched in his vanguard; death and destruc¬ 
tion followed after. He came attended by the gods of his 
land, gods of wrath and vengeance, cruel in their might. 

Yet I bade Israel be strong, saying: “ Surely I will deliver 
you from Assyria as I delivered your fathers from the strong 
hand of Pharaoh. I will smite the Assyrian gods as I smote 
the gods of the Kenites.” 

For though the prophets had taught me mercy and gentle¬ 
ness, I thought not to lighten my hand for any but mine own 
people. 

But the Assyrians came in number as the sands of the sea 
and overwhelmed the armies of Israel. Their gods, for 
swiftness and for the power of dealing death, were like the 


I, YAHWEH 


88 

lightning that flasheth from one end of heaven to the 
other. 

And when I would have rebuked these gods for that they 
trespassed upon the holy soil of another god that was his 
by conquest of old time, they brake my sword and at the 
point of a spear drave me over the borders into Judah. 

Then I cried: “ Cursed art thou, Nannar, god of the 
moon, because thou didst deceive me in my youth. Behold, 
I have sought to become great among the gods by acting 
in accord with that which is deepest in the heart of man, 
even the love of power and the lust of battle. For so didst 
thou advise me. And lo, I am stripped of power by gods 
that are mightier than I.” 

But Israel I rebuked: “ Because ye have divided the holy 
soil northward and southward and have not been as one 
with your brethren of Judah, ye have halved the power of 
your god. Wherefore are ye overtaken by destruction.” 

Now when the King of Assyria had razed the principal 
cities he took above seven and twenty thousand of the chief 
men of Israel, together with such of their families as had 
escaped fire and sword, and carried them away captive to 
Nineveh. And I, repenting of mine anger, went with them 
to the edge of the land, speaking such comfort as I could. 
I knew that I should see them no more again forever, for 
they would be mingled with other subject peoples in the far 
land of their conquerors. And strange gods and evil would 
receive the worship of their children. 

When they came to the place where the land of Israel 
bordered on the possessions of Assyria I bade them farewell 
in great heaviness. I thought it not possible for me to tres¬ 
pass on the soil of another god, and I watched until mine 
eye could follow them no more, nor the dust that their feet 
cast up. Then I cried: “ Alas, the beautiful and holy land 
is bereft of its fairest children. No more shall we go out to 
battle together or divide the spoils of victory. Would that 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 89 

mine eyes were the eyes of a man, that I might know the 
comfort of tears. ,, 


As a flock scattered before the wolves were my people 
Judah when they knew how I returned from the bor¬ 
ders of Assyria with my broken sword. And many of them 
said: “ Yahweh is a vain boaster. He hath not the power, 
and mayhap he lacks the will also, to defend his nation.” 
Wherefore they turned to serve other gods. They wor¬ 
shiped the sun and the moon and bowed themselves to the 
spirits of fire and flood; they offered prayers to the lightning 
and to the stormy winds; they sacrificed to the evil ones in 
whose keeping were the scourges of famine and pestilence. 
Aye, they offered up their children, the fruit of their bodies, 
in the valley of Hinnom. 

Yet even in those days there arose prophets. Jeremiah 
cried from the housetops and at the corners of the streets: 
“ Hear, O Judah! Yahweh our god is holy and righteous. 
He is of great compassion, and his tender mercies have no 
measure. He asketh not a sword, but a pure heart. Cast 
away your iniquities, therefore, and purge his temple of 
abominations. Then will Yahweh have mercy upon you 
and cherish you as a mother cherisheth her firstborn. And 
he will take away your stony hearts and will give you hearts 
of flesh. And because he will put his spirit into you ye shall 
be greatest among the nations.” 

When the people heard the word of Jeremiah, many of 
them repented and amended their ways. And Josiah, King 
of Judah, joined with the prophet to purge the land of its 
abominations. But the greater part of the people re¬ 
nounced not their strange gods. For they said, “ Lest Yah¬ 
weh prove not so strong as the king and Jeremiah do 
think.” 

And I said: “ I shall not fail them that have repented 


I, YAHWEH 


90 

in Judah, but will save them from the destruction that 
came upon Israel.” 

Wherefore I caused a new blade to be fitted into the grip 
of my sword. 

Now even while Jeremiah prophesied, Babylon arose to 
stand in the place of Assyria. And Nebuchadrezzar, the 
king, exacted tribute of all nations even unto the borders 
of Egypt. 

In the day when he looked toward Palestine, Judah 
trembled. And the people, forgetting the word of Jere¬ 
miah, encompassed the heavens with prayers to sun and 
moon and all the host of the stars. Fat oxen they slew and 
burned on the altars of Baal. Moloch they besought with 
strong crying to come and dwell in the house that was mine 
only. 

Seeing all this that was done before my face as though I 
were a god of no majesty, I questioned whether I should 
indeed strive against Nebuchadrezzar did he come, or the 
rather turn my blade against Judah. 

So questioning, I came one day upon Jeremiah and a 
company of the prophets as they knelt beside the pool in 
the fullers’ field. And Jeremiah stretched forth his hands 
toward the heavens and besought me, saying: “ O thou who 
madest the heart of man for righteousness, have mercy 
upon the house of Judah lest the seed of righteousness per¬ 
ish from the earth. Behold, there is yet a remnant that is 
faithful. Redeem us from our sins that have been many, 
and let all nations see the salvation of our god.” 

And lo, while he was yet speaking the king’s guard came 
and took them into custody, both Jeremiah and those that 
were with him. 

And Nebuchadrezzar came once and again to Jerusalem 
and bore off the king and the principal families of Judah 
to keep them captive in Babylon. At his first coming I sat 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 91 

in the sanctuary with my sword between my knees; at 
his second I took my sword in hand, but smote not; no, 
nor when, surrounded by his besieging armies, Jerusalem 
endured a famine so grievous that delicate women seethed 
their children in the pot; nor yet when he took the city. 

Nonetheless, at the last, as I saw my precious vessels 
borne off and the remnant of my people crowding through 
the north gate, I aroused myself and cursed Nebuchadrezzar 
and his people: 

Cursed be thou, Babylon, 

Thou harlot among the nations. 

Who dost steal the virgin daughters and the goodly 
sons of every land 

To mingle thy seed with their blood, 

That thou mayest possess the fat places of the earth 
For the hire of thy lewdness. 

Let the flesh of thy virgin daughters be leprous, 

And the blood of thy sons as the blood of the dead. 
Let their minds be the minds of dotards, 

And their spirits bitter as gall. 

In the days of their youth let them loathe their lives, 
And cry in vain for the deliverance of death. 

And blessed shall he be who shall take thy little ones, 
The offspring of thy harlotry, 

And shall dash their heads against the stones before 
thine eyes. 

And I wrote the words and put them into the sacred 
chest that I might have them by me forever. 

Thus did I take what bitter comfort I might from a god- 
ship that could curse where it could not blast. 


9* 


I, YAHWEH 


The hand of their captors rested not overheavily upon 
the Judeans in Babylon, and certain of the people came 
now and again to Jerusalem. 

Wherefore, hearkening from amid the ruins of the tem¬ 
ple upon a day, I heard two men speak, and knew one for 
a priest that had held with Jeremiah, and the other for a 
prophet newly come out of Babylon. He it was who en¬ 
couraged mine exiled people to believe that I would restore 
Zion; wherefore I did call him Benaiah, which name giveth 
the meaning, “ Yahweh hath built up.” But the scribes, 
for that he was in spirit like to Isaiah, did call him the 
second or the younger Isaiah. 

Now the priest questioned Benaiah, saying: “ Hast thou 
considered who or what may be the cause of all things that 
are? At whose bidding doth the corn spring from the seed? 
Whose hand formeth the buds among the gray boughs of 
the olive tree? Who hath cast up the mountains and fur¬ 
rowed out the river beds? By what word were the stars set 
in motion, or what counsel keepeth the order of their 
courses? ” 

“ These be the doings of Yahweh, the god of our 
fathers,” Benaiah made answer. 

But the priest said: “ Nay, Yahweh is the god of a lesser 
people and his dominion is determined by the bounds of 
his own land. Are not the stars above all nations? Cometh 
not the spring everywhere? Behold, if there be one who 
informeth all things with life, surely he must be greater 
than Yahweh.” 

Then Benaiah spake again: “ What is the measure of a 
god’s greatness, and by what line shall man mete his power? 
Yahweh it was who opened up a fount of justice in the days 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 93 

of Amos, who caused lovingkindness to abound through 
the word of Hosea. None other gave the flower and fruit¬ 
age of faith what time Isaiah prophesied in the court of 
Ahaz. Are not these things that he hath brought to pass 
in the heart of man as marvelous as trees and grass, yea, 
wondrous as the stars? Surely there can be but one true 
god, whether of man’s thoughts or of the world without. 
And his name is Yahweh.” 

But the priest made answer: “ If our god be the creator 
of the whole earth and the wakener of whatsoever is good 
in man, then must he be god of all peoples and not of our 
nation alone.” 

And Benaiah said: “ I have pondered this matter also. 
And of a truth I believe that he is the god of every man that 
liveth.” 

Then, walking among the ruins, he lifted up his voice 
and cried aloud: 

Hear, O ye people of Judah who languish in the house of 
your captors, 

And ye of Israel that are scattered abroad: 

Behold, darkness covereth the earth and gross darkness the 
people; 

But Yahweh shall arise upon you 
And his glory shall be seen upon you. 

And gentiles shall come to your light, 

And kings to the brightness of your rising. 

Also the sons of the stranger that join themselves to Yahweh 
To serve him and to love the name of Yahweh, 

Even them will he bring to his holy mountain 
And make them joyful in his house of prayer. 

Then while the priest marveled, and I with him, Benaiah 
prophesied yet again: 


I, YAHWEH 


94 

The day cometh when nations afar shall say of Yahweh: 
“ Doubtless thou art our father though Abraham be igno¬ 
rant of us and Israel acknowledge us not; 

“ Thou, O Yahweh, art our father, our redeemer; Thy 
name is from everlasting.” 

But when he had finished his prophesying the priest 
questioned him yet again, saying: “ It passeth belief that 
a god whose people lie in bondage should be so great. How 
can Yahweh whose house is in ruins be called lord over 
the gods of Babylon? ” 

Benaiah answered: “ Not because the arm of Yahweh 
is weak, but because his righteousness is strong, do these 
nations suffer bondage. For their sins Yahweh hath de¬ 
livered them over to be trodden of their enemies until 
they repent; it is he who strengtheneth their oppressors. 
Yea, our god calleth the wind and the fire and the destroy¬ 
ing sword against them that do unjustly. Moreover, that 
man who breaketh the holy law shall be devoured by in¬ 
ward burnings. Though all men forget righteousness, 
yet will not Yahweh forget, and though all turn from it, 
yet he will not turn.” 

And I saw that the priest trembled in all his joints and 
the flesh crept on his bones at the vehemence of Benaiah’s 
speaking. 

Then the prophet took from his girdle a writing tablet 
of hardened clay and cast it to the ground, and it was shat¬ 
tered into many pieces. And he said: “ Thus shall the right¬ 
eousness of our god do to him that is hardened in iniquity. 
Nevertheless, he is also a god of lovingkindness who seek- 
eth to redeem men from their sins, and who is ever ready 
to welcome them when they repent of their unrighteous¬ 
ness.” 

Now while I listened to the prophet the fury of that 


TUTORED BY THE PROPHETS 95 

wrath which had long been upon me was abated, and I 
beheld as from a hilltop the farther reaches of that road 
which Abraham and I had together trod in the beginning. 
And I could see that it wound back and forth among the 
nations to bind them together. And I beheld afar off at 
the end of its windings the city of righteousness, and in the 
midst of the city a throne whereon never king nor god had 
sat, but which awaited that one who would rule in right¬ 
eousness over all mankind. 

Yet when I looked on my hands they were stained with 
blood. And I knew that my deeds had matched neither 
the relentless righteousness nor yet the steadfast loving¬ 
kindness that Benaiah’s words had imputed to me. 

Nonetheless, under the power of his speaking I remem¬ 
bered the companionship that I had once had of Abraham, 
Moses and the prophets, like which no other god had ever 
known. 

And while I yet pondered if I might not by striving be¬ 
come what Benaiah would have me be, he prophesied in 
a loud voice: “ The ransomed of Yahweh shall return 
and come to Zion with songs and with everlasting joy 
upon their heads; joy and gladness shall be theirs, and 
sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” 

Then said I: “ This day will I go down into Babylon 
and abide with my people in the sorrows of their captivity 
and the shame of their bondage until the time of their 
deliverance be come.” 


Now the children of my people at their coming into 
Babylon had been required by their captors to sing the 
songs of Zion. But they hanged their harps upon the 
willows beside the watercourses, for they said, “ How shall 
we sing the songs of our god in a land that is not his? ” 


96 I, YAHWEH 

Wherefore, appearing among them I said, “ Comfort ye, 
comfort ye, my people, for the time of your deliverance 
draweth nigh.” 

Then I bade them take their harps from the willows; 
and I gave them a song: 

Sing, O heavens, 

And be joyful, O earth 1 

For Yahweh hath comforted his people. 

Break forth into singing, O mountains, 

And rejoice, ye hills that are round about Jerusalem; 

For he that loveth Zion hath redeemed her, 

And hath called her to be queen among the nations. 

But when Benaiah returned from Jerusalem and heard 
this song he said: “Judah hath been chastised for her 
iniquities that she might learn humility. And if she be 
redeemed from the hand of the enemy it is not that she 
may reign as queen among the nations, but that she may be 
a servant to all people. For he that sitteth in the heavens 
hath chosen her to be his minister of righteousness.” 

And the people gave their assent, saying: “ Let it be 
even as Benaiah hath said. Yet not until we shall have 
come again into our own land.” 


INTERLUDE 


LAWYERS LAY DOWN THE LAW 


INfow there came before me in Babylon a company of 
men who did question me after this manner: “ What is 
that righteousness concerning which the prophets have 
taught thee to speak? ” 

And I answered them, “ To be righteous is to do well.” 

But they asked, “ What is it to do well? ” 

While I cast about how I should answer, they prodded 
one another, saying, “ Yahweh hath not been told the mean¬ 
ing of righteousness.” 

Then they set before me a great number of books, seeing 
which I asked, “ What be these many books? ” 

And one of them made answer: “ These be the writings 
of Aaron that he set down at sundry times, together with 
the law that Moses gave, with, mayhap, something added 
here and there on the margins, and a chapter put in as 
need might be to make the meaning plain.” 

Then another of their number said: “ These writings do 
set forth the meaning of righteousness; how a man shall 
wash the cups and platters and his hands that be defiled 
by touching this and that of an unholy nature; what work 
he may do on the sabbath day; with what manner of offer- 

97 






I, YAHWEH 


98 

ing he shall appear before thine altars; how he shall order 
himself going in and coming forth of his house; together 
with many like things that pertain to righteousness.” 

“ How came ye by this knowledge? ” I asked. “ The 
prophets have said nothing on this head.” 

And they made answer, “We have this knowledge from 
our acquaintance with the law, for we be thy lawyers.” 

Whereupon I asked who had made them to be lawyers. 
And they said, “No man hath made us to be lawyers. 
We be made lawyers by our knowledge of the law.” 

Then I said, “ How shall I burden myself with the re- 
membering of these many matters? ” 

Whereto they replied as with one voice: “ It is not re¬ 
quired of thee to remember. We thy lawyers shall remem¬ 
ber for thee and also for the people; nor shall one jot or 
tittle escape us.” 

But I said: “ Nay, not so. It is not my purpose to be a 
ruler in small things. Neither shall I use you for a goad 
to make the people’s life a burden.” 

Whereupon all made their faces sad and solemn and 
spake ominous words, and one of their number said, “ From 
the beginning of time until now it hath not been known 
that a god refused the counsel of his lawyers, nor that a 
god prospered who resisted his wise men.” 

Nonetheless I would still have dismissed them, save that 
a very subtle man from among them took me apart and 
said: “ Hearken, Yahweh, and be advised by me. The 
prophet and the lawyer are one, forasmuch as the prophet 
calleth the people to righteousness, while the lawyer alone 
knoweth in what righteousness doth consist. Put thyself 
into our hands, I pray thee, and abide by our counsels. 
Then when we be come into our own land again, we that 
know the law shall order the life of the people from day 
to day. Six days shall it be so, and on the seventh the 


LAWYERS LAY DOWN THE LAW 99 

people shall be thine. They shall do no work on the sab¬ 
bath day, nor shall they know any pleasure but to hear 
the word of the prophets at the mouth of thy priests. And 
the land shall become great because of the law and the 
prophets.” 

And he persuaded me, because I liked well that the land 
should become great again and that the people should be 
wholly mine once in every week of days. 

Even so did I become lord of the sabbath, but when we 
were come into our own good land again I heard little of 
the prophets but much of the law. 


VI 


UNDER FOREIGN YOKES 

Upon a day my people and I did return from Babylon 
and go to dwell in our own land once more. And when 
we had abode there certain years, Alexander of Greece laid 
his hand on all the hither parts of the east, even as Assyria 
and Babylon had done aforetime, and when Alexander 
died Palestine fell to his general Seleucus. Now Seleucus 
ruled Judah from Syria, and when Seleucus died his son 
ruled after him and his son’s son. And there arose from 
his house Antiochus, King of Syria and the parts round 
about. And after he had ruled wisely for some years as a 
man, Antiochus caused himself to be held a god. And he 
called himself in the Greek tongue Theos Epiphanes, which 
is by interpretation “the Manifest God.” 

Wherefore, seeking to destroy the forms of worship by 
which my people honored me in the temple of Jerusalem, 
he commanded that swine be sacrificed to himself on mine 
holy altar. 

Now there was an aged priest in Judah, Mattathias by 
name, who was of a courageous spirit and zealous for the 
law. When therefore he saw how it went with the temple 
he gathered about him a company of young men who feared 


IOO 






UNDER FOREIGN YOKES 


101 


not Antiochus, no, nor any man. These he led against the 
soldiery that came to desecrate the temple. And the men 
of Mattathias made havoc of the despoilers. And Mat- 
tathias died, being full of years, and his son Judas, who was 
also called Maccabeus, took command and increased the 
number of the Zealots, firing their indignation yet further 
by the strong appeals which he made to their partisanship 
of the land and its god. 

Yet Antiochus yielded not, but did the rather send 
armies again and again into Judea to try if by weight of 
numbers he might subdue it. But Maccabeus, whose skill 
and cunning in warfare fell not short of his courage, dealt 
with the invaders however numerous and however oft they 
came. And I was pleased beyond measure, because he re¬ 
lied not wholly on the arm of flesh to give the victory, but 
did ever exhort the men of war to fulfill all the require¬ 
ments of the laws, both those that were noted in the books 
and those which the priests and lawyers spake from time 
to time. 

And with prayers and strong cryings he besought me 
to stand in the breach as of old time and smite the enemy. 
Which thing I did the more gladly because I liked not 
that Antiochus, being but a man, should say, “ I am the 
Manifest God.” 

Thus did Judas Maccabeus and I bring deliverance to 
Judah. Not only so: we restored the ancient borders and 
stretched out our hands over much of the territory that 
had aforetime appertained to Israel. 

Then, when we had subdued all the armies of Antiochus 
and had made plain to the nations that I and not Anti¬ 
ochus was manifestly god, I was given to think in this wise: 
“ The lust of battle is not in itself sufficient to make a 
god great. He only becometh great who bindeth his people 
with peculiar laws and doth wake in their hearts a fierce 


102 


I, YAHWEH 


jealousy for their customs, their faith, their blood and their 
holy soil. When a god calleth the lust of destruction to 
the support of these, there shall no god or people stand 
before him.” 

Thereafter for a season I was not careful to walk softly 
before any god nor to show respect for kings. 


Power passed from the hand of the Seleucidae even as 
it had passed from the hand of the Assyrians and Babylo¬ 
nians, and Rome ruled the world in their stead. And the 
Roman Caesar appointed Herod to be King of Judea and 
to conquer the land and rule it in quietness after the man¬ 
ner of Caesar’s other dominions. But meeting with resist¬ 
ance Herod carried the city of Jerusalem by assault, and 
his army burned a part of the temple and tarnished the 
beauty of what remained. Nor did Herod withdraw, as 
had been the custom of those enemies that had hitherto 
sacked Jerusalem, permitting my people to restore unto 
me what was mine. 

Thereafter I made what poor shift I could of keeping 
up the semblance of a god’s estate in my ruined house. 

But because my doorway overlooked such desolation as 
must humiliate a god, I went seldom abroad. It suited me 
better to remain behind the sanctuary curtains and hearken 
to those sounds which still bespake mine ancient dignity, 
the voice of prayer and song, the bleat of the lambs await¬ 
ing the demands of mine altar, the cooing of the doves 
kept for the minor sacrifices. Nor was I wholly insensible 
to the pleasant chink of coins when heavy silver shekels 
were dropped into the treasury among the widows’ mites 
of brass. 

Now it came to pass on a day in the eighteenth year of 


UNDER FOREIGN YOKES 103 

Herod’s reign that I heard a flourish of trumpets, signify¬ 
ing that someone stood at the gate who might not or would 
not enter. And the high priest went forth to see what this 
summons boded, and I with him, though he knew it not. 

And we beheld in the paved street that ran beside the 
temple enclosure a throng of city folk, such as are ever on 
hand for that which promiseth event, and in the midst of 
them a company of Roman soldiers drawn up, and in the 
midst of the soldiers a horse bearing Herod the King, and 
a litter with a woman in it, carried high that she might 
see. And the people, supposing that some desecration was 
planned, shook their fists and called down curses on the 
Romans, and certain ran and stood shoulder to shoulder, 
making of themselves a wall between the soldiers and the 
gate. Nor did they note when some of their own number 
fell and were trampled underfoot. But the soldiers, facing 
four ways to make a square, stood like men of stone. 

Then did I remember how the street had in times past 
rung with shouts that proclaimed the victories of David, 
and how its pavement had rumbled under the silver char¬ 
iot wheels of Solomon the Wise. 

Now Herod, though part Jew, was not of those who be¬ 
thought them of freedom for the land. Wherefore he 
heeded not the clamor nor let himself be moved by such 
as offered their naked breasts in defense of mine house. 
But when he beheld the top of the high priest’s staff where 
he stood within the gate, himself invisible for the shield 
of men before him, Herod called out, saying: “ Draw near, 
priest. I have a matter to lay before thee.” 

Then the high priest bade the crowd part that was be¬ 
tween him and Herod, but himself advanced not out of the 
temple area. Nor did Herod move from the square of 
soldiers, but sitting his horse spake, saying: 

“ These many years have I sorrowed over the poverty 


I, YAHWEH 


104 

of the temple, and have thought to speak with thee on that 
head; but the pressure of affairs hath hindered. It was 
not mine intention to damage the dwelling of Yahweh. 
The stubborn resistance of the city made necessary what 
I would gladly have avoided. But let that pass. I am now 
minded to redeem Yahweh from his miserable plight and 
undertake at mine own charges the building of an house 
surpassing that which Solomon gave him.” 

Whereat the woman in the litter clapped her hands and 
cried: “ It is a princely offer, my lord, and worthy of thy 
good heart. Thy generosity will not only honor the god, 
but give thee a memorial to keep thy name green in this 
uncouth land whose people hate thee with so bitter and 
unreasonable a hatred.” 

“ Truly,” nodded the centurion of the guard, for he 
stood near the litter, “ and mayhap it will placate them. 
Never can I pass through one of their wretched streets 
but that a tile falleth from some roof or a water jar is 
emptied from an upper window. Thy thought is well con¬ 
ceived. By all means let a temple be given this worthy 
god.” 

But Herod scowled on both speakers, lest any had heard 
them, and said in a general way after the manner of orators, 
“Mine Hebrew blood doth warm toward Yahweh and 
his glorious past, and I am mindful of the courtesy due 
so great a god.” Then approaching the high priest he 
spake his plan more particularly: “ Let us think on the 
house which I propose. If it please thee I will have marble 
quarried for its walls and costly cedar wood hewn for the 
beams of its roof. And I will seek out skilled workmen 
of every craft.” 

Now when the high priest heard mention of the crafts¬ 
men, he perceived that whereof he might complain and 
still not wholly refuse the gift. Wherefore he said: “ It 


UNDER FOREIGN YOKES 105 

is meet that thou provide Yahweh a new house, having 
cast down the old; thy marbles and cedars are acceptable, 
with perhaps some gold, which doubtless was intended in 
thy mind but forgotten in thy speech. But for common 
workmen to build the temple would be contrary to the 
law. If they enter upon the spot which is to be the holy 
place, even to lay stone for its walls, it will be defiled and 
Yahweh cannot abide therein. Aye, if a common man 
touch with his finger one of those stones, or the paring 
of his nail fall upon the inner surface that is to look to¬ 
ward the god’s seat, or his spittle drop upon it, or his 
breath in going forth from his nostrils do so much as — ” 

Now as the high priest spake the people watched Herod, 
how he should reply. And Herod, breaking in upon his 
words, contended not, but said: “ I care not who labors on 
the house. Choose whom thou wilt. But hold! The 
city throngs with priests who live by the temple revenues. 
They are pure and holy. Cannot men be found in their 
company to build without further pay if I but furnish the 
materials? ” 

“ In any number,” answered the priest quickly, being 
discomfited by the nearness of Herod’s horse. “ Every one 
of us is skilled in his craft.” 

Then Herod came down from his horse and linked his 
arm with that of the high priest, and they two bade the 
crowd disperse. And the high priest said to the people, 
“ The Roman yoke is hard, but let us rejoice that it may 
yet be made easier, inasmuch as one of our own blood 
sitteth upon the throne.” 

Then king and priest went together apart from the 
people and entered into a covenant to carry on this work. 
And the throng parted their several ways, bearing with 
them the bodies of those that had been trampled. 

Now from that day Herod set about to fulfill the prom- 


io6 


I, YAHWEH 


ises he had made touching the temple. He provided mar¬ 
ble of high excellence for the house and rare woods to 
ceil its chambers. Moreover, he made provision to cover 
with gold the front and certain visible parts of the side 
walls. And the priests were astonished at that which came 
to their hand, wherefore they wrought the more cun¬ 
ningly. And as I saw mine house rise, stone upon stone 
and beam upon beam, I thought that I had not beheld 
finer in Babylon. 

But albeit it was the fairest house I had ever possessed, 
I could have but small joy of it. For ere the temple was 
ready for habitation Herod did with his own hand set a 
Roman eagle of beaten gold over the gate that looked into 
the outer court. And when the people cried out against 
it he said: “ Take no offense. This is done that when 
Yahweh looketh out of the door of the pleasant house 
which I have given to him he may see a symbol of the 
friendship which is between him and me.” 

But I, being in the court, heard a centurion mutter: 
“ Yea, and it will serve as a warning to that stubborn god 
of a stiff-necked people if at any time he think to set foot 
across the bounds which Herod hath marked for him.” 

Before long my people tore the symbol from the gate. 
Yet were they not able by so doing to remove those other 
tribulations wherewith I was harassed of Herod. For 
though mine was that pleasant house, and mine only, none¬ 
theless I was jostled on all hands by the celestial inhabi¬ 
tants of small shrines set up round about to minister to 
the legions. Moreover, the image of Augustus Caesar was 
prominently placed throughout the land with the order 
that divine honors be paid unto it. And though it irked 
me to play host to one who belonged to the race not of 
gods but of men yet could I not refuse as I had refused 
in the days of Antiochus. 

And the more the Romans vexed me, the more exact- 


UNDER FOREIGN YOKES 


107 

ing did I become with mine own people, demanding that 
they reverence me in onerous and profitless ways. Those 
were tedious days for god and man. 


Herod died, and another reigned after him. And it 
came to pass on a day when I sat in my sanctuary beneath 
the golden wings of my cherubim that I heard shouting 
and laughter. And I went forth into the inner court, if 
haply I might see what such mirth portended. And in 
the inner court was nought but the savor of flesh burning 
on the altar and the lesser smells of curdled blood and 
rancid fat from the pavement. And I went forth into the 
outer court where were the caged birds and hobbled beasts, 
hucksters and money-changers, bargain seekers and loiter¬ 
ers, rich men who came with trumpets blown before them 
to make their offerings to the temple treasury, and Phari¬ 
sees praying in the corners of the wall. 

And when I sought more closely the cause of the merri¬ 
ment I beheld only that a rough drover lifted a small lad 
and set him among the weights and balances and bags of 
coins on a money-changer’s table. And his fellows en¬ 
couraged him freely, so that a crowd gathered. 

“ Prophesy unto us, thou suckling Elijah,” cried one, 
“ that we may repent of our sins and be saved.” 

Whereat they laughed. 

But the lad protested, saying, “ Nay, good folk, hinder 
me not, for I am come to my father’s house to note how 
doth fare its business.” 

And one of the cattle sellers sought to further the sport, 
saying: “ Ho, boy! By thy speech thou shouldst seek thy 
father not in Jerusalem but among the stinking fisher 
boats of Galilee.” 

“ Aha! ” cried another, “ a Galilean, is he? Doubt- 


io8 


I, YAHWEH 

less he is a dangerous fellow and ought to be delivered to 
the guard, lest he hatch a revolt.” 

So saying he winked at the venders who crowded around, 
and they nodded their heads and nudged one another as 
though to say, “ Here is good sport for a dull hour.” 

But the lad, showing no fear, answered them: “ My 
father is no fisherman, but one Joseph, a Nazarene car¬ 
penter of good report. Yet I meant not him, but the god, 
when I spake of my father’s house.” 

Hearing this, one of the money-changers, thinking to 
provoke sharper mirth, said: “ Hear ye! He would make 
a roisterer of the god himself.” 

Whereat they laughed not, but the rather all fell silent, 
looking in fear toward the temple. And in the sudden 
quiet the lad entreated them, saying: “ Good people, tell 
me; is this in truth the court of our father’s house? If so, 
ought we not to show reverence? ” 

Then he beheld me, and with his eyes besought me, 
and I drew near and led him away. And we came to that 
room at the side of the temple where the doctors and law¬ 
yers were wont to meet for counsel. Now there was that 
in the face of the boy which laid a command on me such 
as I had known only in the presence of the elder prophets, 
and I showed him how he should enter. And seeing him 
in their midst the doctors straightway demanded why he 
had come into the temple; and he answered, “ I came 
seeking my father’s house to see what things are done 
therein by them that serve him.” 

And one of the younger doctors, who perchance had ex¬ 
perience of a lad’s questions, spake patiently with him, say¬ 
ing: “ The god is in a sense father of the nation forasmuch 
as he makes us his peculiar charge if we fail not to bring 
him tithes and offerings nor omit to keep his holy laws. 
And he dwelleth in this temple in the sense that this is 


UNDER FOREIGN YOKES 10 g 

the place where reconciliation is made for sins. None¬ 
theless, only the high priest may appear before his seat. 
Thou hast mistaken some words of thy mother’s teaching 
if thou didst think to walk into his presence.” 

“ Nay,” the lad replied, “ I thought only that here in 
his earthly house I might draw more near to him than 
otherwhere, and that his ways might be shown me by such 
as dwell in his house to serve him.” 

Then he questioned the doctors, saying, “ Why is there 
blood on the pavement? ” 

And an elder doctor answered sternly, “Without the 
shedding of blood there can be no remission of our sins.” 
And he opened up the book of the law to read what things 
were written therein. 

And having hearkened the child said: “ Ye be those 
that study to know the will of Yahweh. Be there also 
those who study to do it? ” 

And the elder doctor replied, saying: “ Yea, verily, there 
be holy men who act only after the law and our interpre¬ 
tations of it. They remove themselves from the common 
ways of life and shun worldly pleasures.” 

“ And these are they that Yahweh regardeth as his sons? ” 

“ That I cannot tell thee,” said the elder doctor, “ but 
they gain much credit with the teachers of the law.” 

And he placed his hand on the child’s head and said: 
“ Son, the time draws nigh when Israel shall be delivered 
from her bondage and exalted above the nations. This 
will be when men have learned to keep the whole law. 
Be thou, therefore, true to the temple, defending it in thy 
speech and keeping its precepts.” 

And there came a man and a woman seeking the child. 
And the woman, when she saw him, cried: “Son, why 
hast thou so dealt with us? Thy father and I have sought 
thee, sorrowing.” 


1 10 


I, YAHWEH 


But he said, “ Mother, knew you not that I must be about 
my father’s business? ” Yet he followed her toward the 
gate. But even as he went he marked where a young bul¬ 
lock tugged at its halter, and he ran and eased the rope 
about its neck. And he said, “ Surely, mother, the god 
doth not see how these beasts are made to suffer at the 
threshold of his house.” Then he put his hand in hers 
and suffered her to lead him forth from the temple. 


VII 


ANGRY PRAYERS 

How from the beginning of the Roman rule the Jews 
had been stirred to revolt numberless times by hothearted 
Galileans who promised them in my name a speedy de¬ 
liverance and the establishment forthwith of a messianic 
kingdom. 

My priests said nought, nor consulted me on such oc¬ 
casions, but I marked how they awaited the issue, keeping 
peace meanwhile with the Romans. 

It came to pass nearly a score of years after the Galilean 
lad had visited the temple that, on a certain day of atone¬ 
ment when the high priest entered my sanctuary, the broom 
of hyssop trembled in his hand, wherewith he was wont 
to sprinkle the most holy place with cleansing blood. See¬ 
ing that his face also gave evidence of strong feeling, I 
asked, “ Is there a disturbance in the city, or is a deliver¬ 
ance being attempted again in Galilee? ” 

He answered: “ If thou canst call it deliverance that a 
self-made teacher is giving out that thou art the kind of 
father whose benefits may be reaped by the wicked with¬ 
out money and without price. A carpenter out of Naza¬ 
reth speaketh among the people in this wise. And thou 
shouldst see how the common folk buzz about him like 






112 


I, YAHWEH 

flies at a pot of honey! Moreover, we of the temple doubt 
not that he desires to turn all from us, for he speaketh to 
them in parables apt to their common life and when he 
bestoweth a benefit on one he saith, 4 See thou tell no 
man.’ ” 

He thrust his broom deep into its vessel and splashed a 
great quantity of blood on the mercy seat. 

Wherefore I perceived that I must speak shrewdly if 
I would learn further, and I said, “Yet might it be well 
for me to draw nearer to my people as a father in these 
times.” 

The high priest answered in anger: “ It will be well if 
thou keep thyself strictly to thine abode and avoid all in¬ 
tercourse with the rabble that this Galilean draws after 
him. In times like these, the upholding of the temple 
customs is of first importance.” 

“ But look you,” I insisted, “ it is a good name — father. 
Kindness, mercy and love sound in it; yea, and likewise 
that sternness which ye priests have taught men to expect 
of me.” But seeing that his wrath did but mount I urged 
him no further, saying only: “Nay, nay; be assured I 
shall not commit myself to the doing of any new thing 
hastily. Nonetheless it is a thought worthy to be con¬ 
sidered, especially inasmuch as the prophets in their day 
seemed to cherish some such plan. Think on it, I pray 
thee, and commend it to thy brother priests for their 
counsel.” 

The high priest said: “ This we have already done. The 
day for a father-nearness to the people is not yet. There 
is a time to unbend and a time to maintain dignity. None 
should observe the proper season more strictly than a god.” 

Then he laid his broom in his vessel and would have 
departed, but I detained him, saying: “ It may be that this 
Galilean stands in the lineage of my prophets.” 


ANGRY PRAYERS 


J1 3 

Whereto he answered only: “ Hath this new prophet of 
thine sought in any way to do thee honor? Shall Yahweh 
step down from his throne to follow after a carpenter’s 
son? ” 

Now there were two parties in Israel, the Sadducees and 
the Pharisees. The Sadducees were chiefly of the rich folk 
and cared not who ruled the nation if so be they them¬ 
selves had control of the temple and its revenues. And 
the high priest was of their number. But the Pharisees 
were principally concerned to bring about the observance 
of the ritual law, inasmuch as they believed that, if all 
the people could be brought to keep all the precepts, the 
national bondage would end and that kingdom come which 
had been foretold of the prophets. 

Wherefore I bethought me, what matter if the high 
priest think not well of the Galilean? Are not such things 
the concern rather of the Pharisees? 

And lo, even as the high priest passed from the sanctu¬ 
ary, I heard a voice of prayer and strong wailing from 
one of those rooms where the Pharisees were wont to con¬ 
gregate, and the loudness thereof disturbed me. And go¬ 
ing in to them I beheld in that room upwards of twoscore 
doctors, and some prayed, while others did but wail and 
tear their hair. And those that prayed, did pray after 
this manner: 

“ O Thou who art the Everlasting One, Lawgiver, Judge 
and King; who didst raise us up to be a nation and set us 
apart as chief among the peoples of the earth when we 
were weak and but a handful; who didst from the be¬ 
ginning choose and ordain us to be thine own peculiar 
treasure and charge; who also didst anciently save our 
fathers out of many distresses, delivering them from the 
hand of the enemy and avenger when through affliction, 
bondage and sorrow they were brought low and their 


I, YAHWEH 


114 

hearts, being purged of sinful desire, were inclined again 
to keep thy holy law: 

“ Look now on us in our time of trouble and deliver us 
from the mouth of destruction as of old time. For we love 
thy precepts and offend not against them; we seek not our 
own pleasure through the lusts of the body or pride of 
spirit as do common men. But we are exceeding zealous 
for thee and seek only the doing of thy will with respect 
to this thy chosen people, according to thy promises given 
by covenant to our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; 
which holy will, as testified to us by godly teachers, is 
to — ” 

“ Come to the point of your praying,” I charged them. 
“ What would ye by this din of intercession and strong 
crying? ” 

Whereupon they that were standing with bowed heads 
straightened themselves; they that kneeled or lay prone 
on the ground sprang to their feet. And all looked upon 
me but knew me not. Then did the chief Pharisee step 
forward to speak the wrath of those that were assembled 
and to lay hold on me. But perceiving the majesty of my 
person he fell back, and in fear covered his eyes with his 
hands. And his brethren did likewise. 

“ It is the angel of Yahweh’s presence! ” cried one of 
them. Wherefore they fell every one upon his face and 
covered their heads with their mantles. 

Then I touched the chief Pharisee upon his shoulder, 
saying, “ Rise and fear no evil, but instruct me clearly 
concerning this deliverance that ye seek.” 

He rose not, but answered: “Alas, thou knowest, my 
Lord. We, the people of Yahweh, are in bondage to Rome, 
even as the common nations round about us.” 

“ ’Tis not a new condition, nor is it a matter whereof to 
complain so vehemently, seeing ye are a stiff-necked and 


ANGRY PRAYERS 1 15 

rebellious people. Tell me rather of the affliction that 
doth more immediately beset you.” 

“ The Galilean! ” they cried with one voice. “He 
strengthens the hand of Rome.” 

Whereat I was astonished and questioned more closely 
of the matter, saying: “ By what acts doth the Galilean 
affright you? Common report gives out that he is a good 
man. There be some that think he hath been raised up for 
the doing of Yahweh’s will concerning this nation.” 

Now having heard a Sadducee speak ill of the Galilean, 
I had thought to hear the Pharisees speak well. But one 
answered for all and said, “ Let my Lord keep patience 
if his servant speaketh concerning this Galilean what 
doubtless my Lord well knoweth.” 

I bade him say on and fear no ill. 

“ As thou knowest, my Lord, when this man first came 
out of Nazareth, having laid down his carpenter’s tools 
— in the former use of which a man of God need feel no 
shame, inasmuch as certain of the prophets were of a hum¬ 
ble way of life — we of the strictest school of the Pharisees 
made no complaint of him. For he preached righteous¬ 
ness and repentance and went about doing good. Never¬ 
theless ere long certain of us marked with a measure of 
sorrow that he sought not counsel of the chosen leaders 
of Yahweh’s people. But other of our number, forgetting 
the zeal for our sacred tradition which, let my Lord mark, 
distinguishes our company in general, could find no fault 
in him.” 

Whereupon certain of the younger Pharisees did draw 
their mantles yet more closely before their faces. 

And I said: “ Forbear to make charges one against an¬ 
other. Say rather what ye do in common hold against this 
Galilean.” 

And one who was a judge among them said: “To this 


11 6 I, YAHWEH 

charge there be five counts. First, that he violateth the 
sabbath day, going through the corn and threshing the 
kernels thereof with his hands because his belly crieth 
for food. Yea, and he ministers to the sick in the hallowed 
hours of the sabbath when men ought to bear their ills 
patiently for the glory of Yahweh. Secondly, he eateth 
things defiled, out of vessels that have not been purged 
after handling by persons whose sins are unforgiven; for 
he claimeth, contrary to the law, that nothing which goeth 
into a man can defile him, but only that which proceed¬ 
ed! out of his mouth. Thirdly, he doth mock them who 
make long prayers, and teacheth sinners that the god is 
ever disposed toward leniency and needeth not that men 
persuade him. 

“ Fourthly, he giveth out that it is just to pay the tribute 
money unto Rome, and hath been seen to pay it for him¬ 
self and for his followers, not grudgingly, with spittings 
and hissings and cursings as do we Pharisees, but with the 
easy air of one who alloweth the rule of a stranger. 

“ Furthermore, he counseleth meekness toward our op¬ 
pressors. Aye, as though there were no vengeance in the 
heart of Yahweh/’ 

Then one who was a scribe reached into his bosom and 
brought forth certain tablets, and read unto me: 

“ * Ye have heard that it hath been said. An eye for an 
eye and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you. That ye 
resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right 
cheek, turn to him the other also.’ ” 

And another, commenting, said: “ This indeed he ad¬ 
vised, my Lord; nay, commanded as if he were a new law¬ 
giver raised up to sit in Moses’ seat. To the fishermen 
and rude laborers he promised high places in a new order 
of things which he saith shall come.” 

And again he who was a scribe read out of the tablets: 


ANGRY PRAYERS 117 

“ ‘ Ye have heard that it hath been said. Thou shalt 
love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. 

“ ‘ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them 
that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray 
for them that despitefully use you and persecute you; That 
ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven/ ” 

And that other said: “ Who is our enemy but Rome 
that keepeth us in bitter and shameful bondage? Who 
smiteth us and trampleth on us but the Roman? Who 
else doth hate and persecute us? And in the face of all 
that is done against us this Galilean counseleth submission. 
Aye, he saith that the meek shall inherit the earth. Now 
thou knowest, my Lord, that we who are servants of Yah- 
weh do patiently bide our time until Rome shall be busy 
with war on some far border. Then shall we strike swiftly 
and shake off her yoke. Mayhap Yahweh watcheth also 
and will send Messiah. But how shall Yahweh succor us 
if we keep not the law, and how shall these things come 
to pass if hatred of our enemy be permitted to bum low 
in the hearts of our young men? ” 

Then did all begin speaking together, and one said, 
“ I with mine own ears did hear him hold up a Samaritan 
as example of what a man ought to be — a Samaritan, 
mark you.” 

And another, “ I did hear him say of a Roman centurion, 
‘ I have not found in all Israel a faith like his/ ” 

Now when I heard report of the Galilean’s ill-advised 
charity toward nations that lay beyond the borders of 
Israel’s holy soil and toward peoples not of the pure blood, 
I was sore troubled. Again I felt that impulse to go 
abroad which certain prophets had stirred in me. And I 
liked it not. 

While I mused upon this, he who was a judge among 
them commanded silence and thus bespoke me: “ May 


118 


I, YAHWEH 


Yahweh be pleased to save his people from the false teach¬ 
ings of this Galilean and bring stoutness of heart again to 
them whom he hath corrupted. Be gracious unto us, 
my Lord, and beseech Yahweh that he smite this man for 
us by lightning from heaven, or by storm, or flood, or 
disease, or such other means of deliverance as he hath in 
his hands, that we who be little given to violence may be 
free of his blood.” 

Whereto I replied after the manner of one intrusted with 
a message, “ Be sure that Yahweh shall think on these 
matters and honor thy requests as may be best for the 
nation.” 

Whereupon they fell again on their faces and worshiped 
me as the angel of the presence. And the chief Pharisee 
said: “ Alas, my Lord, we are but men, and we have looked 
with open eye upon the angel of Yahweh. Grant that there 
come no evil upon us from the sight of thine unveiled 
majesty, for though our intercession was strong, yet we 
thought not our prayers would bring thee so nigh us.” 

And I answered, “ Ye shall receive no hurt therefrom.” 

Then one of the younger men said, “ We shall fast cer¬ 
tain days until the light of thy countenance be lifted from 
us.” 

“ Aye, my Lord,” declared the chief Pharisee, with a look 
that rebuked the younger, “ we shall keep ourselves from 
wine and pleasant bread and from our wives until the new 
moon.” 


VIII 


KNOW ME, GALILEAN! 


HSIow for convenience’s sake and because in this day it 
mattereth not, I have represented my servants as speaking 
to me or of me by my dread name Yahzveh, yet in those 
days whereof I have written did no man, even the boldest, 
at any time pronounce it with its full value of tones, so great 
were the fear and reverence in which it was held. The 
rather did they say, “ Lord,” “ Thou Holy One of Israel,” 
“ O God ” and “ Thou Great King of Glory.” But after 
that hour when I spake with the high priest and then with 
the Pharisees, I began to mark prayers that used none of 
these forms, but only, “ Father.” 

And this new name that came to mine ear from vineyard, 
field and olive yard, from city and desert place, from palace 
and beggar’s hovel, was spoken in simplicity and strong 
faith. The sound disquieted me, for it echoed from the 
walls of the temple and set the altar and the mercy seat and 
all the holy furniture of mine house trembling as if with a 
sweet music. Yet I knew not surely if it was I, Yahweh, 
that the people called upon. Nor knew I whether to leave 
the temple forthwith and seek out them that so hopefully 
cried, or whether to shut mine ear wholly. 






120 


I, YAHWEH 

But on a certain night I said: “ Be strong, Yahweh, and 
put this matter to a test. Answer thou boldly to the name, 
‘ Father,’ and have this uncertainty brought to an issue.” 

And when the day was no more than risen a woman’s 
voice called, “ Father.” 

Then I said, “ I will answer now to this new name that 
my people call upon, notwithstanding she who calls is but 
a woman.” 

And I found the woman in the land of the Samaritans 
where she prayed by the side of Jacob’s well that he had 
given to the city of Sychar. And she said in her prayer: 

“ Our Father, grant me, I beseech thee, a larger measure 
of that peace which was in his face, and which he gave to 
mine heart when I challenged him here beside the well.” 

And though she was not of Judah I spake to her, saying, 
“ Daughter, who is this of whom you speak, and from what 
sore trouble did he loose thee? ” 

“ The prophet who came out of Galilee,” she made an¬ 
swer. “ He found me an adultress. Five husbands had I 
had, and he with whom I was living was no husband but 
a friend only. The prophet made me a daughter of God.” 

Now when I heard of her iniquity I was swept by indig¬ 
nation, and I smote the woman on the breast, saying: “ Let 
these breasts wither and thy round limbs waste, since by 
them thou hast enticed men to deadly sin. By this token 
thou shalt know that I am Yahweh, the Father on whom 
thou hast called.” 

Whereat she fell upon her knees and folding her hands 
across her breast prayed, saying: “ Blast me not, I beseech 
thee, for I have repented of my sins. Mercy is to be found 
with the Father. Even so did the Galilean promise.” 

Then carefully lifting first one hand and then the other, 
she looked down upon herself. And she cried: “ See! 


121 


know me, Galilean! 

Thine anger hath left me unscathed. A fountain of life 
hath been opened within me, even as the Galilean did 
promise/' 

I saw that her breasts were full and smooth as before; 
and I looked on mine hand that had smitten her, wonder¬ 
ing how it had lost its power to blast, for I knew not what 
she meant by a fountain within. 

But her joy was mingled with perplexity and, fixing her 
eyes upon me steadfastly, she said: “ I can well believe, 
having felt the weight of thine hand, that thou art Yahweh 
who sitteth in the temple at Jerusalem, whom we Samari¬ 
tans are taught to worship, though we may not come nigh 
thine holy habitation, inasmuch as the Jews do declare 
that the shadow of a Samaritan defileth the stones. But I 
doubt if thou canst also be the Father in whose name the 
Galilean promised me forgiveness and life.” 

Whereupon I asked with great gentleness: “ In what 
words did he speak of the Father? Said he aught of his 
dwelling place? ” 

“ Aye,” she answered. “ When he came to the well and 
sought a drink of its water, I, thinking to play with him 
and perhaps entice him as I had enticed others, said: ‘ Sir, 
I perceive thou art a learned man of the Jews. Tell me, 
therefore, where is God to be worshiped? In Samaria's 
holy mount, as they of my city teach, or in Jerusalem as ye 
Jews hold? ’ And he made answer that the Father dwelt in 
mine own heart.” 

Hearing this, I was in a measure reassured, for though 
I had failed in my trial of answering to the Father name 
and could make nothing of her dark saying, yet now I knew 
beyond peradventure of doubt that the Galilean had not 
had in his thought any god of Roman or Greek or Scythian 
or Parthian when he spake of the Father. No, nor of Egyp- 


122 


I, YAHWEH 

tian. Wherefore I blessed the woman, albeit she was a 
Samaritan and wont like others of her people to misspeak 
the ritual words when she worshiped on Mount Gerizim. 

And I heard another who prayed “ Father,” and answer¬ 
ing I came to a wayside house with heavy walls and a door 
of thick cedar wood. Though this portal was stoutly bound 
with iron, as if they who dwelt behind it were fearful of 
thieves, yet was it braced wide open. 

Within I saw a man of small stature reclining at a table 
on which he builded money into towers, adding coin to coin 
from a sack. At his elbow was a parchment, and ever and 
anon he would read the writing and say: “ Four shekels of 
silver to Simon of the vineyard,” or “ Seven and twenty 
pence to Benjamin, the shepherd,” or again, “ This goodly 
sum for Adah, the widow of Philip the fisherman.” And 
his face shone, albeit at times his hand, as if unaccustomed 
to letting go, made as if to close over the money. Where¬ 
upon he would pray, “ O Father of the Galilean, loose me, 
I humbly beseech thee, from this greed that doth beset me.” 

“ I am here, my son,” I said. 

Whereupon, startled that I should have approached un¬ 
heard of him, he swept the money into its sack, then fell to 
stroking his beard the while he regarded me with a shrewd 
and searching eye. Whereafter he sighed heavily, saying, 
“ Owe I anything to thee, friend? ” 

“ Thou owest a proper respect,” I said shortly, rebuking 
the familiarity of his address. “ Knowest who I am? ” 

Again he sighed and, half rising from the couch, lifted 
his hand and entreated: “ Peace, friend, peace. A score 
of times a day one or another cometh and asketh: ‘ Ha! 
Dost thou know me? ’ or, ‘ Hast forgotten Judah of Caper- 


know me, Galilean! 123 

naum? ’ or, * Dost recall Thomas the netmaker? * And 
each thrusteth his bill of reckoning under my beard. And 
while conscience bids me pay all, even as I promised the 
prophet, there is surely an end to what I possess. If thou 
hast aught against me show me thy claim in writing.” 

“ Let the reckoning wait,” I made answer, “ but tell me 
more of this prophet. How is he concerned in what thou 
art doing? ” 

“ Why, he is concerned,” answered the man, “ by being 
the author of my present actions. Know that I am Zac- 
chaeus, a gatherer of taxes in these parts, and a notable 
extortioner, until that day when I did climb a sycamore 
tree — being, as thou seest, small of stature — to see him 
pass by. 

“ But hear the whole story. The prophet, walking be¬ 
neath my tree, looked up and, seeing me, said that he would 
sup in mine house. Whereupon I hastened home and bade 
my wife prepare against his coming. Now mark you, I was 
outcast from the people of this place, whom I had de¬ 
frauded under protection of my Roman office, and only 
those who were shunned by honest folk would consort 
with me. These did I bid to meat, lest I seem friendless 
before the prophet. 

“ When the meat was eaten and the wine drunk we re¬ 
clined at table, and the Galilean, having no contempt for 
his fellow guests or me, spake in such wise that I could 
endure no longer the remembrance of mine offenses.” 

“ Ha! ” said I, “ did he chastise thee after the manner of 
the prophets? ” 

“ Nay,” answered Zacchaeus. “ Touching me he ut¬ 
tered no word, good or ill. His speech was of the love of 
God and of man’s dignity as a son of the Father. But as he 
discoursed I saw myself not the man that was, but he that 
might be. And straightway I cried out, ‘ Half my goods I 


I, YAHWEH 


give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any man I will 
restore to him fourfold for all that I have taken away/ ” 

Having thus reminded himself, he turned once more to 
the table and would have ended the talk that was between 
us. But I questioned him further, saying: “ When he saw 
thy repentance the prophet bade thee go quickly to the 
temple and offer gifts for the cleansing of thine hands, did 
he not? Aye, doubtless he did that; else would he not be 
a prophet.” 

Zacchaeus lifted his shoulders and spread forth his 
hands. “ Doth one wash in the mire? Doth one go to the 
priests for cleansing? ” 

“ Say what thou wilt of the priests in the outer court. 
But what of Yahweh who sitteth in the temple? ” 

“ Aye, what of him? ” answered Zacchaeus. “ Methinks 
he sitteth too much in the temple. He doth not trust him¬ 
self in the company of a thief such as I was. But the Gali¬ 
lean came into mine house, and in another’s house I have 
seen him suffer an outcast woman to wash his feet and dry 
them with her hair.” 

“ Did the Galilean seek then to embitter thee against 
Yahweh, the ancient god of thy people and the only true 
Father? ” I asked. 

“ Nay,” said Zacchaeus, “ bitterness would ill become a 
friend of the prophet. But an extortioner’s life hath sharp¬ 
ened my wits to detect evil and hath enabled me to see that 
the temple folk differ from what I was only in seeming, 
whereas the Galilean by his presence bringeth God very 
nigh.” . 

A quick answer lay ready to my tongue, but profiting by 
my converse with the Samaritan woman I forbore to reveal 
myself, even so much as to depart in the manner in which 
I had come. 

Wherefore I blessed him and bade him farewell. And 


know me, Galilean! 125 

Zacchaeus made as if to hold me, saying: “ Stay, friend! 
I know thee not, but there is fear in thy face. Be thou 
advised by me. Go and seek out the prophet.” 

Thereafter I gave ear constantly to the prayers ad¬ 
dressed to the Father. And those suppliants who had been 
but little in the company of the Galilean seemed not to 
hold it against me that no great aid or comfort came from 
mine answering. But others who had been much with the 
prophet asked largely, demanding vast boons for the in¬ 
ward being, and when I made complaint of their strange 
requests, they continued to pray as if they heard not. 

Now albeit I gained scant knowledge of what the Gali¬ 
lean intended by godship, yet in my persistence I learned 
much concerning that expectation which he was building 
up among the people. Of those sinners whom he had led 
into a new way of life I saw many, and of the brokenhearted 
from whose sorrows he had made joy to spring as water 
from a cleft rock. Yea, and of the sick by him restored to 
health. For he had his own way with the sick. Where 
their bodily ills were caused by aught gone amiss in the 
spirit through evil thought and vain desire, ofttimes he 
wrought complete deliverance. This I now comprehend; 
but then I knew not, nor did any, how to account for his 
authority. There were even those who said that he cast out 
devils through the power of Beelzebub, prince of devils. 


Now toward evening of a certain day I met in a long 
valley that ran between two hills a company of common 
folk, fishermen and shepherds, dressers of vineyards and 
tillers of the soil, carpenters also, and some that wrought 
at tentmaking. These came through the valley talking 
and laughing, and some sang. And many of them cried 


I, YAHWEH 


126 

the Father name, not for a gift, but in gladness of heart 
and fervent thanksgiving. Looking upon this caravan I 
thought, “ It doth appear as at some great feast, when the 
folk go up to Jerusalem.” 

And I inquired of one where they had been and whither 
they now journeyed. And he answered, “ We have been 
to see the Galilean and now go our ways home.” 

Then another took up the tale, for any that had been 
with the prophet were ever eager to speak thereof to such 
as had not. And he said: “ He fed us by a miracle, the 
wonder of which is still with us. And not us only, whom 
thou seest, but others to the number of four or five thou¬ 
sand. For when it was noised abroad that the Galilean tar¬ 
ried in the region, we on this side of the lake said one 
unto another, 4 Let us go and look upon his face/ and 
those on the other side said likewise. So we came together 
in his presence. And we had taken no food, meaning to 
return quickly. But when he spoke we forgot all else. 
And lo, it was evening and our babes were crying in 
hunger. 

“ Wherefore one of those twelve that call themselves his 
especial disciples advised that he bid us depart. But he 
would not, lest we faint in the way. And a lad had five 
loaves and two fishes in his wallet. These the Galilean 
brake into fragments and gave to the smaller children. 
But when he had broken them he bowed his head and 
prayed to the Father. And as he prayed, we were all filled 
and our strength returned unto us.” 

“ Ha! ” cried I, bethinking myself how certain prophets 
of old had by signs and marvels greatly increased the num¬ 
ber of those that hearkened unto them. “ Did his prayer 
multiply the loaves and fishes, as men say the prayer of the 
prophet Elijah caused the widow’s cruse to flow with oil 
and her barrel of meal to yield at every asking? ” 


know me, galilean! 157 

“ Nay,” answered the man, “ I know nothing of that.” 

Wherefore, tempted to anger because the Galilean’s ways 
seemed ever past my finding out, I mocked these men, say¬ 
ing: “ Now, ye were blind indeed, and thoughtless beyond 
excuse. Why did ye not take note of what was done with 
the bread and whether it was multiplied? But think ye 
what a prophet with such a gift might accomplish for his 
people. Ye might shut yourselves up in your cities and 
tire them out that besieged you. There would be wealth 
for all Israel and no lack of offerings for the house of Israel’s 
god. Ah! Ye should have proved the prophet. If he had 
the gift you should have made him your king.” 

And I watched how the joy on the faces of some dimmed 
into regret. Yet not on all. For he who had testified 
answered and said: “ Thou hast properly rebuked us, 
friend. Yet it is not to be marveled at that we thought not 
to prove him, being, as thou mayest understand, overcome 
with joy and amazement because of our inner satisfaction. 
This seemed by far the greater part.” And he fell silent for 
a moment, then said, “ Why even now, when I think on it, 
I esteem it the better gift of the Galilean.” 

At this saying I laughed. “ Inner satisfaction, sayest 
thou? Why, this was no miracle. The prophet hath a 
trick of words that caused you to forget the sharpness of 
your hunger.” 

“ Now there thou mistakest grievously,” objected the 
man. “Not forgetfulness was it, but an offering of grace 
from on high. May the Father grant us its continuance.” 

And I pursued not the matter, but the rather asked: 
“ Whom meanest thou by this Father? Think ye that he 
and Yahweh are one? ” 

Whereupon the man roused himself as from sleep, and 
he answered me saying: “This I know not, nor did the 
question trouble me when I was with the Galilean, so clear 


1*8 I, YAHWEH 

was my sense of the Father. But surely Yahweh is the one 
true God, as we have been taught from our youth. Yet — ” 

Whereupon, fearing lest I had not done well to put 
doubt of myself into this man’s mind, I did hastily leave 
him. 

Yet knew I from this time forth that the prophet was 
doing for men that which neither I nor any god had been 
able to compass. The joy, the peace, the fullness of life in 
the faces of his followers were new things in the world, 
bespeaking in each one the awakening of a sense of unity 
with some source of power which I knew not. 


Heretofore I had answered many voices that did call 
“ Father,” or “ Our Father,” yet had delayed to answer the 
one voice which called more confidently than any, saying, 
“ My Father.” Now I tarried no longer, but responding 
to its summons found one who walked alone in a grove. 
And I approached him in silence, for I thought, “ If he be 
indeed a prophet he will know me as did Moses when I 
waited for him on Mount Sinai, and the manner of his 
greeting shall be a sign to me.” 

Yet he gave me no sign but only looked on me kindly 
as one well used to intrusion, seeking the while if he 
might read some need in my face and marveling when he 
found it not. Whereupon I addressed him overshortly, say¬ 
ing, “ What art thou about in Israel? ” 

And he answered as shortly, “ I preach repentance to 
prepare the way for the kingdom of God which is at hand.” 

Again I questioned him: “ Dost thou publish to all men 
that this kingdom will come when the righteousness pre¬ 
scribed in the law of the Pharisees is kept? ” 

“ Unless thy righteousness exceed the righteousness of 


know me, Galilean! 129 

the scribes and Pharisees the kingdom shall not be re¬ 
vealed unto thee,” he replied. “ And only those shall enter 
who do the will of my Father.” 

“ Thou hast had much to say concerning thy Father. 
Show me some sign of him,” I demanded. 

He said: “ Consider the lilies of the field, how they 
grow. They toil not, neither do they spin, yet I say unto 
thee that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed 
like one of these. The heavenly Father clothes them. Be¬ 
hold the fowl of the air. They sow not, neither do they 
reap nor gather into barns. The heavenly Father careth 
for them.” 

Whereby he seemed to me to mean nothing more than 
that in the order of the world which took account of all 
things I might read proof of the being of the father god, 
and that therefrom I might gain also an assurance of his 
care for man; even as one of mine elder prophets had 
said, looking not on flowers or birds, but on flocks and 
their kindly guardians, “ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall 
not want.” 

Now in that moment I beheld the branches tossing 
on the trees in the grove and the ripe corn billowing in the 
fields. To mine ear was borne the rustling in the barley 
at the foot of the hill, and the hum of winged creatures 
in the air, and the note of the brook that ran by our feet. 
And, with my thoughts kindled at those spoke by the Gali¬ 
lean, it appeared that all these things were part of some 
universal element that gave life everywhere and eternally. 
And I knew that in them and in that which encompassed 
them did the Galilean find a benevolence that rebuked 
the harshness which I, Yahweh, had practiced from time 
to time. 

Wherefore I questioned him in a voice of authority: 
“ Whence dost thou receive thy warrant and the substance 


I, YAHWEH 


130 

of thy message? Hast thou heard within thee a voice from 
afar as it was in respect of Moses and Amos? ” 

And he answered simply, “ I speak that which I receive 
from my Father.” But on his face I saw all the sorrows 
that had ever afflicted man, and I saw there also a measure¬ 
less and unconquerable hope. 

But when I would have asked whether he held Yahweh 
and the Father to be one, there came from close at hand the 
cry, “ Ho, Galilean! ” And into the grove streamed a 
motley company, shouting, “ Come, prophet! Thou shalt 
be king over us; thou who canst satisfy the hunger of an 
army if thou wilt.” 

In the midst of them I marked one who had been with 
the five thousand at the breaking of the loaves and fishes 
— not he with whom I had particularly spoken, but a lout¬ 
ish fellow whom I had remarked for that his mouth had 
stood open as though it were the only gateway to his mind. 
But those with him were not of the company that I had met 
in the valley. Wherefore I understood that he alone had 
taken to heart my counsel about making his prophet a 
king and had gathered such as he could to come with him. 
These called therefore: “ Ho, prophet! ” “ Where art 

thou, breadmaker? ” “ Come forth, miracle-worker! ” and 
other like rude salutations. 

Wherefore mine anger broke upon their heads. “ So ye 
are the kingmakers of Israel! Ye are the weighty and hon¬ 
orable of the land! Ye are the choice legionaries of Zion 
that would deal with Rome! Aye, doubtless ye would 
make your prophet a king of pariahs and house him royally 
in some crawling Arab tent that ye have already pitched 
on the edge of Gehenna. Think ye that a prophet in the 
royal line of prophets would have aught to do with such 
as ye? Go get you honorable men — rabbis, priests, mer¬ 
chants, wealthy vineyardmen and youths who can handle 


know me, Galilean! 131 

the sword. Away! Get ye hence! Else by the throne and 
footstool of your god, I will certainly destroy you out of 
hand! ” 

Now perchance these simple men thought that I spake 
with authority of the prophet, or it may be they thought 
not but feared only. Be that as it may, their coming and 
their flight revealed to me a task that lay ready to mine 
hand. 


From that day forth I troubled not concerning prayer, 
nor vexed myself how I might become like to the god of 
whom the prophet preached. If I desired in truth to be¬ 
come the prophet’s god, must I not first show some accom¬ 
plishment of a nature that would persuade him to accept 
me? What these graceless followers of a dullard had of¬ 
fered him in empty boasting, I, the god, would give the 
Galilean in very sooth. Verily I had been putting last 
things first. How could I be a father god in a kingdom 
that was not yet come? 

Therefore I took counsel, remembering how in this 
Galilee, land now of prayers, there had been uprisings 
aforetime. 

And of a morning I came upon a husbandman early at 
work, and laid my hands on his shoulder as he drave the 
spade at the root of a vine. “ Friend, hast thou a sword? ” 
I asked, speaking softly to advise him that my purpose was 
secret. 

His spade fell and, facing me, he so trembled and his 
tongue so clave to the roof of his mouth that he had only 
the shaking of his head wherewith to make denial. Then, 
whispering, I spake in his ear the word by which Zealots 
commonly revealed themselves one to another. 

“ Swear by the temple that thou art not a Roman,” he 


1%2 I, YAHWEH 

quavered. “ Nay—swear by Caesar’s throne.” And I 
swore. 

Then lifting his outer garment he showed me the short 
sword that was upon his thigh, and his tongue was loosed 
and he said, “ There be few of us on the plain, but the 
hills are full of hothearted men who do but await a 
leader.” 

On a second field I said, “ Hast thou a sword? ” to a 
man who plowed with a yoke of oxen. He answered me, 
“ Nay,” and went on with his plowing. Wherefore I did 
follow him up and down the furrows, speaking first of 
the glorious past, then mourning the present, and going 
on quickly to picture a shining future. But even as I 
thought him won, his face darkened and he said, “ Alas, 
master, it is even as I told thee; I have no sword.” 

Then I looked steadfastly at his plow where it lay in 
its furrow and, his eye following mine, we twain did gaze 
upon the iron shard until the darkness slowly lifted from 
his face, and he said, “ Is it not somewhere written, master, 
that they shall beat their plowshares into swords? ” 

“ Truly,” I assured him. “ And of this very day and 
hour was it written.” 

In this manner did I go throughout Galilee until I had 
seen some thousands of stout fellows and made appoint¬ 
ment with them. As I went I lived again the brave days 
when Joshua’s arm hacked down the Canaanites and 
cleared the land for the children of my people, rejoiced 
anew in the might of Gideon and the valor of David, and 
bethought me of Judas Maccabeus. And I said, “ Among 
them all was not one that had strength and quiet like unto 
this Galilean, nor one who could call up so great a love 
from the people.” 


know me, Galilean! 


133 


Yet not until the day of appointment did I seek out the 
prophet. And because he was followed everywhere by a 
multitude, I cast about how I might speak with him alone. 
Wherefore upon a moment when he drew aside for prayer 
I went unseen after him. 

He stayed not his foot until he was come to the top of 
a high hill. There I revealed myself, and he said, “ Peace, 
friend.” 

44 Nay, I can give thee a better word,” I returned. 44 Vic¬ 
tory first, and afterward peace in a kingdom of brother- 
men.” 

44 There is a peace which the world cannot give,” he 
said, and I knew that by this saying he sought to bring me 
into the line of his own thought. But I answered him not. 
Nor did he press me, for he was weary. 

Yet I counted his weariness no ill thing, for I knew that 
he who bringeth good tidings in such an hour wins double 
welcome. And straightway I told him of the kingdom 
that was at hand, saying: “ This night ten thousand swords, 
aye, twenty thousand, shall await thee in a place of my 
appointing. Therefore return not to the multitude, but 
rest until evening and be strong to lead Israel against 
the oppressor.” 

But he answered as one bewildered, bidding me speak 
plainly and tell to whom these swords belonged and what 
this kingdom was whereof I spake. 

Not knowing at what point my meaning had escaped 
him, I began with what patience was mine at this moment: 
“ The kingdom is that whereof thou hast preached, wak¬ 
ing hope in every man’s heart. The swords are of Galilean 
Zealots who shall take Jerusalem and drive the Roman 


I, YAHWEH 


134 

legions into the sea. Thou thyself art he who shall be 
king over Israel, and mayhap of the nations round about.” 

Yet even now that I had spoken plainly he warmed not. 
Wherefore I marveled, saying: “ Art thou not a Galilean? 
And is it not said that in Galilee the babes in their swad¬ 
dling clothes drink from their mothers’ breasts the love of 
freedom? Rejoice, then. For I bring sure tidings that 
the hour of the kingdom is at hand.” 

“ My kingdom cometh not by the sword,” he said. 

“ How then if not by the sword? ” 

Whereupon he made answer that it would come through 
justice and righteousness, but chiefly through love. 

Then reasoned I with him: “ Will love destroy one 
Roman soldier, to say nothing of a legion? Love shall be 
the rule within the kingdom when it cometh; nevertheless 
by power must the throne first be established. When was 
ever a nation confirmed save by might?” 

And thereto I added a warning, knowing that if he 
offered love for a sword to these Galileans whom I had 
gathered in expectation of his promises they might do him 
a mischief. 

But he turned my dark words concerning his possible 
death to the intent that death might join with love to 
accomplish the Father’s will. 

“Truly,” I replied. “Death to the Romans; life and 
love within Israel.” For it seemed now that our thoughts 
moved toward agreement. “ But it was of thine own 
death that I purposed to warn thee.” 

Now it was reasonable for me to warn him of death, 
to the end that he might choose the safe path. Yet he re¬ 
plied by a parable only: “ Except a corn of wheat fall into 
the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die it bring- 
eth forth much fruit.” 


know me, Galilean! 135 

When I asked how he intended that I apply this saying, 
he answered: “ I speak what the Father hath vouchsafed 
me. He that keepeth his life loseth it, but he that doth 
lose his life for righteousness’ sake doth save it.” 

But I thought, “ He is young and knoweth nought of 
dying and of what it is to go down into Sheol.” And I said: 
“ Consider death, what it is, and what the Scriptures say 
of mortal men: ‘ They go down into the pit. In that very 
day their thoughts perish.’ To resign thy body to death 
might be no hardship to such as thou. But to part forever 
with the nobler senses! Wouldst hasten to that event? 
W r ouldst cut thyself off from god as from man? For it is 
written again that in the grave there is no remembrance of 
any god.” 

Unmoved, he made answer: “ The good shepherd lays 
down his life for the sheep. No man taketh my life from 
me. I lay it down of myself. And if I lay it down the 
Father will raise me up again to live in the kingdom. 
Death will be for a season, but life everlasting.” 

Then he spake further to me of the eternal life, and how 
he whom the Father had in keeping could never truly die, 
the everlasting love being surety of man’s continuance. 

Yet even as he spake I beheld from the hilltop one who 
plowed a field on the plain, and I was minded again of the 
swords and the place appointed, and that, albeit he talked 
of death, the Galilean yet lived and must be persuaded to 
accept the kingship. 

“ It is said thou wast born in the royal line,” I began. 
“ Consider, then. King David, thy forebear, who took Bath- 
sheba warm from the bed of Uriah the Hittite, a mighty 
man of valor; and Solomon whom Bathsheba bore him. 
Would either of these stand idle while Israel awaits a 
deliverer? Look down upon the kingdom that was theirs. 


I, YAHWEH 


136 

Look to snow-capped Hermon, to Mount Zion where 
stands Jerusalem. Not these only, but all the kingdoms 
of earth shall be thine.” 

He answered only that he had no kingdom in this world; 
that they who are of the world seek the upper rooms in 
houses and the chief seats at feasts and in the synagogues. 
“ But it shall not be so in the kingdom of my Father. He 
that is first shall be last and he that is greatest shall be 
servant of all, and a man shall love his enemy and cherish 
his neighbor as himself, returning him good for evil.” 

Seeing clearly now that I must deal with this father¬ 
hood that arose between us at every turn, I said: “Tell 
me more exactly of this Father whom thou proclaimest. 
Yahweh, Jupiter and Mars are known by their temples. 
Where is his? ” 

Again he answered me with a dark saying: “ In this 
place where thou standest is one who is greater than the 
temple.” And though I might well have hoped that he 
meant me, yet I knew that he meant himself, which mean¬ 
ing he made clearer by saying that the Father’s dwelling 
was in the souls of his children. 

Then I was filled with assurance concerning myself, for, 
said I, “ This Father is no more a living god than is this 
man the temple at Jerusalem.” 

And when he said, “ Forty and six years was the temple 
in building, yet were it destroyed, in three days I could 
build a new habitation for the Father,” I was wroth beyond 
measure. 

“ Enough! ” I cried. “ Let us have done with profit¬ 
less talk. Know me, Galilean. I am Yahweh, thy nation’s 
god! Thou hast blasphemed my name and mine abode. 
Yet will I have mercy upon thee if thou wilt take up the 
sword. Nay, but first fall down and worship me, foras¬ 
much as thou hast grievously blasphemed.” 


know me, Galilean! 137 

Now when he heard my name spoken with that dread 
accent which through the centuries men had forborne 
to utter lest they die, and when he saw the brightness that 
I allowed my presence to reveal, he leaned against a rock 
and closed his eyes, and though his lips moved there came 
no sound out of them. 

Then feared I lest the repute of my dread name be 
true and he die of my too sudden revealing, for his face 
was as that of one from whom life hath already departed. 

But even as I considered how I should restore him, the 
blood returned to his lips and his eyes opened. And look¬ 
ing full upon my majesty he cried out, “ I worship none 
but the Father/’ 

Wherefore I mocked him, saying: “ Thy Father! What 
hath he given thee but dreams, who is himself but a dream 
of thy mind! As for me, I have given thee the promise 
of a kingdom and have laid at thy feet the sword with 
which thou shalt win it.” 

Then, summoning all his strength, he spake out in a 
wrath that smote me like a brazen wind. “ For a throne 
and a sword thou seekest to turn me from my Father’s 
will. Aye! And by thy tempting I now know thee who 
thou art. Get thee behind me, Satan! ” 


IX 


WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS ? 


3B>ack in the familiar chest with the furniture of my 
house before me, I groped for some prop for my majesty 
which the Galilean had blasphemed. The ancient avowal 
of my nation’s faith, the words of the Shema that had once 
set me apart from all other gods, came to me: “ Hear, O 
Israel; Yahweh thy God is one! ” Why had I not with 
these words crushed the Galilean? Yet their hollowness 
as I said them now was sufficient answer to my question. 
Nevertheless, after pronouncing them, I felt some part 
of my godhead return, and when the chief priests came 
to me with darkened brows which I thought betokened 
some violence visited upon them by the Romans, it irked 
me not to find employment in their grievance. 

One said, “ Hast thou no pride in being served by men 
fair-fleshed and of ruddy countenance? ” 

Whereupon I bade them speak plain. Then another 
thrust both his clenched hands beneath his loosened girdle 
and cried: “ Behold thy suffering servants, and let there be 
pity for us in thine eyes. These recent years have we 
had but poor sustenance of the tithe. The storehouses 
are filled with mint and anise and cummin, but the barley 

138 






WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS? 139 

and wheat bins do show the boards of the floor. And each 
priestly family hath known but two forequarters of an ox, 
and of the shoulders of cordy mutton a like number, be¬ 
tween moon and moon this twelvemonth past. One might 
suppose the husbandman garnered nought but fine herbs 
from his fields and every herdsman had been caught be¬ 
tween the wolf and the robber. And as for the juice of 
the grape, we know it better by testimony of our thirst 
than by a seemly lightening of our spirits. Aye, and 
some of us must shortly choose whether in the morning 
we shall fill our lamps from the cruse or anoint our beards 
with the minished oil.” 

Then required I that one of them sum up their will 
of me in this matter. Whereupon they conferred, and 
thereafter made answer: “ We do think, my Lord, that 
either thou dost overbless the mint and scant the corn, or 
the people do measure the tithe with a lying hand. In 
either case it is thy charge that we fail not in flesh, neither 
faint in our spirits.” 

And since their flesh seemed not yet to have failed I dis¬ 
missed them, saying, “ Both your complaint and yourselves 
shall be sifted to the bottom of the basket.” 

Then marked I a ceaseless drone of praying that pro¬ 
ceeded from the little room of the Pharisees, and entering 
I found the chief of the Pharisees in his accustomed place. 
And he prostrated himself and began to speak with his 
face against the ground. 

“ O my Lord,” he complained, “ Yahweh hath not hon¬ 
ored our righteous prayers. These many weeks have passed 
and the Galilean still goeth about weakening men’s hands 
when strengthening would stand them in better stead. 
There hath fallen no fire from heaven to destroy him, 
no flood hath overwhelmed him, no rock from the moun¬ 
tainside hath crushed him, his foot hath not missed its step 


140 I, YAHWEH 

on the desert crag. Is it the will of Yahweh that no 
natural calamity overtake him, but that we, Yahweh’s 
chosen servants, put forth our hands against his life? 
Would our god make trial of us? If so, we be ready, 
though loath to stain our hands with blood/’ 

And I answered and said, “ It is the will of Yahweh that 
ye touch not his life.” 

And the Pharisee said: “ Yahweh the Everlasting One 
liveth. Soon shall the sun of righteousness arise upon us 
with healing for all our ills and the day of Israel’s deliver¬ 
ance shall dawn. As for this Galilean, his own course 
shall determine how we deal with him.” 

But I reminded the Pharisee: “ It is the will of Yahweh 
that ye hurt not a hair of his head.” 


Even a god may feel upon him the weariness of age. 
With the threat of the Pharisee heavy upon me I knew 
on a sudden that I was ancient as Ur, and I bethought 
me how Abraham’s city lay buried under the dust of time; 
how on the mound that hid the palaces of men and the 
temples of their gods I had seen the new grass grow and 
the young lambs skip and had heard the shepherd’s pipe 
make merry music. 

And I said: “ I am like Ur under its mounds. The 
green future above me lies with the carpenter of Nazareth.” 
And I studied how I might yet win him to be my prophet, 
for I thought: “ Since he still lives it cannot be too late. 
Inasmuch as he did so entirely mistake me on the mount, 
I shall the more easily make trial anew in mine own 
person.” 

Wherefore I cried aloud: “ Canst thou not return from 
the land of shades, O Amos? Canst thou not break the 


WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS? 141 

bars of death, O Hosea, to walk with me again? I am in 
a sore strait.” 

Whereupon there came a voice that demanded, “ Hast 
thou not a prophet in these days, Yahweh? ” 

And I answered: “ There is one that I may not call 
prophet, for that he hath scorned me. And I am become 
like an old man who faileth in the springtime when new life 
comes to the valleys and the olive tree on the hill doth 
clothe herself in silver. Come, my prophet, if it be indeed 
one of you that I hear, give me again the words that tutored 
my youth; make me strong again that I may win this man 
unto me.” 

And the voice answered, “ Let every age find its new and 
living word.” 

But I said: “ Plague me not. Since I may not have it 
from this Galilean, let me have from thee, whom I have 
proved, this new and living word.” 

And the voice said, “ I will give thee an ancient, yet 
eternal word, which once thou didst know.” 

“ Then give it me,” I cried in hope. 

And the voice cried, “ Z’dakah ” — which is by interpre¬ 
tation “ righteousness ” — so that the hills rang. 

In answer I shouted for joy, “ I know thee; thou art 
Amos, as I thought.” 

Again there came a cry, “ Naamah ” — which is to say, 
“ kindness ” — and the far mountains gave back its echo. 

“ Nay, nay. I mistook thee at first. For that word I 
call thee Hosea.” 

Then the voice whispered, “ Kesed ” — meaning 
“ mercy ” — very gently, but the ground shook and the air 
trembled with the power of it. 

I spake now with less assurance: “ Forgive me if I have 
twice misnamed thee. Thou art, perchance, Micah? ” 

And the voice said: “ Woe unto him that addeth an 


I, YAHWEH 


143 

unhearing ear to an eye that will not see. I am the patient 
witness within. And I charge thee, take heed lest thou 
shut thyself in eternal darkness and silence.” 

Like Jacob with his angel I wrestled through the night 
with myself, and with morning’s light there came to me 
this question: “ Is he not greater than all the sons of men 
that ever thou hast known? ” 

And I said, “Yea.” 

“ Had he given thee comfortable words thou wouldst 
have owned him a prophet? ” 

“ Yea.” 

“ But he spake the truth and humbled thee? ” 

“ Yea.” 

“ And — secretly thou dost honor him therefor? ” 

“ Yea, yea.” 


Now at the time of the Passover the Galilean came to 
Jerusalem to keep the feast with his people. And the com¬ 
mon folk, having heard it noised abroad that he promised 
eternal life, were disposed to hear him gladly. 

These things I knew, though I departed not from the 
temple nor sought to follow after him. For I said: “ It is 
meet that he seek me out, seeing that I am the god.” 

But on the second day of the week there came to me the 
sound of an uproar in the outer court, and though I said 
to myself, “ This is the high priest’s affair,” and, “ It is 
no new thing for brawling to be heard at thy gates, Yah- 
weh ” — nonetheless I went forth at length. 

And lo, the ground was littered with cages, overturned 
tables and the wood of broken stalls. Coins from the 
money-changers’ bags were scattered everywhere. And 
in and out among the wreckage ran sheep and oxen, while 


WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS? 143 

overhead swooped and twittered a cloud of loosed birds, 
flying wildly, for being free they knew not whither to go. 

And at the far end of the precinct was a great company 
of men; and behold, the keepers of birds and beasts, money¬ 
changers, priests, scribes, and they that had come to wor¬ 
ship or present their gifts were being driven, howling, 
cursing, making show of resistance, toward the principal 
outgate of the temple enclosure. And in their outcry 
heard I such words as “ Traitor! ” “ Desecrator! ” “ De¬ 
filer of the temple! “ Death to the accursed Galilean! ” 
“ Stone the Nazarene pretender! ” 

For the prophet, followed of the twelve that named 
themselves his especial disciples, advanced upon them, 
whirling above his head a scourge made, it appeared, from 
the small cords of a fowler. His face that had ever been 
mild was as the lightning that played over Sinai when 
Moses descended therefrom. And the sound of his voice 
was clear above the tumult. 

The throng moved headlong before him like chaff 
driven by the wind. And when they came beyond the 
outer gate into the street they dispersed not, but stood 
shrieking curses and threatening with clenched hands. 
Yet none was there that dared to oppose him. 

All this I saw from the gateway that divided the holier 
part of the temple from the courtyard, which was less holy; 
and the high priest and some of the chief Pharisees stood 
with me in the space between the two courts. And albeit 
they looked with wrath on the Galilean’s work, none moved 
toward him. 

Now the prophet, having finished his work with the 
traffickers, turned and strode toward the priestly company. 
And he leveled his finger and cried, “ It is written that my 
Father’s house shall be called a house of prayer for all 
people, but ye have made it a den of thieves,” 


I, YAHWEH 


144 

Then he took the scourge of small cords that was in his 
hand and cast it to the ground between the high priest and 
me; and he turned and with firm step sought the outer 
gate, followed by his twelve. And lo, the crowd without 
the walls made no motion to take them, but drew back, 
opening their ranks to let them pass freely. 

And I thought: “ It is my temple that he cleanseth and 
calleth his Father’s house. Before evening he will come 
to me.” 


That night the high priest walked alone in the court. 
Him I encountered by the brazen laver wherein the priests 
were wont to wash their hands before and after sacrificing. 
And he dipped his fingers in and disturbed the water so 
that it cast back broken gleams to the moon. 

Because I knew how wroth he was, I asked what he in¬ 
tended toward the prophet, and he said: “ It is expedient 
that one man die rather than that the whole people perish. 
This man maketh Rome to think that there is revolt in 
Galilee when there is no revolt, and thereby turneth the 
eye of Caesar upon us. Moreover he hath grievously of¬ 
fended against the temple.” 

“ Nay, priest,” I admonished him. “ All the temples in 
the world cannot weigh against the life of one good man. 
Thou art angry because he threatened thy revenues when 
he gave the people to see how unseemly it is that mine 
house be let to venders and money-changers. See thou 
touch him not in anger, for I will require his life at thine 
hand.” 

Nonetheless the high priest ceased not to disturb the 
water that was in the laver. 

Now on the day of preparation before the sabbath, I 
marked in the court a stillness so great that it filled me with 


WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS? 145 

apprehension. And I went forth. Whereupon I saw why 
the court was still. For none was in that place where always 
heretofore the people had thronged, none save two aged 
scribes who sat reading within a booth. One of these 
droned a passage from Aaron’s book: 

“ * Left to right and right to left; let the altar stones be 
changed. Let there be pillars of rough hewn stone at the 
four comers, standing upright, each in its place. And let 
the altar face its low part to the east where the sun riseth. 
And the breadth of its back shall be westward toward the 
going down of the sun, lest the god be offended and come 
not to bless us.’ ” 

And he read in another place: “ ‘ Dust of the earth with 
three buds and two on a peeled rod of a willow tree, newly 
cut.’ ” 

Then he who read said to his fellow: “ How wonderful is 
the faith of our fathers, and how great the treasure which 
these ancient scrolls hold for him that seeketh knowledge. 
Long years ago, what time Herod set his hand to rebuild the 
temple, I found this scroll hid in a secret chamber that was 
laid bare with the razing of a wall; since which time have I 
diligently studied these few precious words, for I am well 
assured that in the holy text is a meaning the which, were it 
uncovered, would be the salvation of the people in times 
like these when men neglect the courtesies due the god to 
run after false teachers like that Galilean. There are 
meanings here, my brother. Would that I might release 
them.” And he sighed, laying his head on his hand. 

And his graybeard fellow turned upon the text his 
rheumy eyes and spelled out its words again. “ Doubtless, 
brother, doubtless,” he said. “ As for me, think not that I 
have been idle. Fifty and five years have I spent in gather¬ 
ing knowledge of all shapes of living things; of animals and 
birds, and such creatures as fly and crawl. And I have made 


I, YAHWEH 


146 

countless measurements to show how these, in pairs and 
sevens, were carried in the ark of Noah. For there can be 
nothing better for the people than to know how won- 
drously Yahweh wrought to save all living things from the 
flood of great waters. Surely this teacheth one to trust 
wholly in him who neither slumbers nor sleeps, but keep- 
eth tireless watch over Israel.” 

While they talked I noted that the top of the booth 
wherein they sat was torn, and that one had covered the 
rent place with a piece of parchment from an ancient scroll. 
And curious to learn what was written thereon I leaned 
over and read these words that the sun picked out from the 
dimmed writing: 

What doth Yahweh require of thee, 

O man, 

But to do justice, to love mercy, 
and to walk humbly with thy god? 

Then said the first scribe to the second, “ Dost hear 
aught, my brother? ” 

And the second put his hand to his ear the better to 
hearken, and he said, “ Nay.” 

And lo, beyond the city wall sounded a low murmur of 
many voices. And I said to myself, “ Perchance the multi¬ 
tudes do accompany the Galilean on his way, even as on 
another day they met him at the city gate with shouts and 
songs.” 

The thought cheered me, and I betook me to the roof 
of the temple if haply I might see somewhat. But nought 
did I see save the hill where wrongdoers met their doom, 
and against the sky three new crosses with the bodies of men 
hung thereon. 

This sight moved me little, so used was I to it. Nothing 
more did it signify than that the Romans meted out just 


WHAT MANNER OF MAN IS THIS? 147 

punishment to three more malefactors, and I sighed over 
the waywardness of men’s hearts that leads to wrongdoing, 
and the hardness of them that punish sins. 

Then heard I again the murmur of the people, like unto 
the roar of a great wind, and in the midst of it the voice of 
one who cried out in the agony of death, “ My God, my 
God, why hast thou forsaken me? ” And wondering what 
god it was that he called upon I returned to the holy place. 

Then darkness like a rolling cloud came swiftly over the 
earth. The ground heaved and cracked under the city. 
I saw how the seven-branched candlestick was broken on 
the pavement, and the table of shewbread was overturned 
with its silver furniture, and the brazen laver cast down. 
And the cedar beams of the roof groaned as under a tempest 
in their native groves. 

And there came a man groping and stumbling in the 
darkness, who threw a handful of coins upon the floor. 
And he cried: “ Thou hast thy thirty pieces back, the price 
of innocent blood. But woe is me. I am forever accursed, 
for I have betrayed my master.” 

And in the thick gloom there appeared unto me a vision 
of men clad in garments that shone of their own luster and 
on whose faces judgment sat. Amos I heard, wild and 
uncouth despite his shining apparel, crying in a voice of 
accusation. Hosea turned away his face from me, and the 
eyes of Isaiah flashed with fierce wrath. 

And there came upon me a coldness and a desolation as 
of the waste places that lie at the ends of the earth. 

And laying hold on the veil that hung before the holy 
place I rent it in twain from top to bottom. 

On the hill between two others hung the Galilean on 
the central cross. Being now in the last agony, he lifted his 
face toward the heavens whereon was written no sign of 


I, YAHWEH 


148 

love or pity; yet he breathed, “ Father, into thy hand I com¬ 
mend my spirit.” 

And to mine ear there came as if from the vault of heaven 
a voice that answered, “ Thou art my son, my well be¬ 
loved.” 

Then it was as though the curtain that divideth from 
earth the final mystery were for a moment drawn aside, and 
in the face of him hanging on the cross I saw a strange 
light like which I had never seen on the face of any man. It 
was both light and shadow, a luminous reflection as of One 
beyond me, even as the life of man is beyond that of the 
worm that liveth in the earth. The crucified looked as with 
a Father’s pity on those who stood about the cross. And 
even as I fell back before that awful beauty, it passed and 
was gone, and on the wooden beam I saw only the face of 
the weary dead. 


X 


I BECOME A CHRISTIAN 


1 was now houseless in Jerusalem. The temple wherein 
I had sat in lonely majesty I had sworn by my godhead 
never to enter again. For I remembered with bitter shame 
how in the days before Amos walls had stood between me 
and my people. I reproached myself for the days of dream¬ 
ing in the sanctuary while the Galilean suffered death. 

Wherefore I said of the temple, “ I hate, I despise its 
fasts, nor can I endure its solemn assemblies.” 

Howbeit, having been long a god of local attachments, 
with my worship centered and my will revealed in a par¬ 
ticular spot, I was sore bewildered without a shrine. Is it 
not known that my people when abroad turned their faces 
toward Jerusalem in prayer even though they made boast 
that heaven was my throne? For I had laid it strictly upon 
them ever to remember how by sanctity of blood and land 
they were a peculiar people among all nations. 

Wherefore I bethought me that unless the foundations of 
a new house were laid somewhere in the holy soil where 
I could come and go, my worship must perish like an up¬ 
rooted tree, and I with it. 


149 






150 I, YAHWEH 

Yet while I suffered this perplexity no man knew that I 
was not in the temple. The priests repaired the rent veil 
and ordered their services as aforetime. Even the fol¬ 
lowers of the Galilean omitted not their ritual duties. 

In those days I found myself often on the mount of cruci¬ 
fixion, thinking on him who had waked in the people an 
expectation of some mighty change that would make of 
Israel the holy nation which the prophets foresaw. And 
I knew that even while they misinterpreted and resisted 
him those who heard him had felt an impending glory. 

Nevertheless, my worship could not center on this hill 
Calvary — a place of shame, hated of the Jews and despised 
of the Romans. 

And as I went here and there it came to me how in that 
time when I had followed the prophet afar off, I had heard 
prayers equally well in whatever place I was. Wherefore, 
seeing that his disciples were overzealous for the temple, 
and liking it not in them, I said: “ Ye may worship me in 
whatsoever place ye will, though it be a hovel. I will be 
with you there, forasmuch as the whole land where your 
master trod is a house of prayer at the gate of heaven. And 
even such gentiles as follow him and seek to share in the 
glory of Israel ye may bring with you to the holy places 
where ye gather.’' 

And they said, “ Yea, but first we shall present them in 
the temple to fulfill the law.” 

Because I knew not how to answer this, I held my peace 
and let them have their will in the matter. 

Who that readeth hath not reflected on those changes 
that touch upon man’s destiny; how ofttimes they declare 
themselves not in the sequence that precedeth them; how 
today groweth big with the issues of the morrow and one 
knoweth not until the hour of labor be come; how old 


I BECOME A CHRISTIAN 151 

things pass away as the swift-winged birds, and all things 
are made anew? 

It is not otherwise with a god. 

At the time of which I write I was drawing nigh to such 
an unlooked-for change. Already that was at work which 
was to make of me a divinity different utterly in outward 
seeming from the god of Palestine. But as I watched the 
Galilean’s disciples going quietly among the Jews, seeking 
new converts to his way, I little knew that within a space of 
time which marks but a moment in the life of a god I should 
be no longer god of the Jews only, but a world god in sooth, 
counseling with emperors, dealing in plans whose reach 
would fall not short of all humanity, and uttering laws to 
bind the men of all nations. 

Hear now the manner in which I was brought to mine 
hour of change. 

Among those that taught the way of Jesus was a certain 
Jew of Tarsus, Saul by name, he that was later known as 
Paul. Yet he was, despite his diligence, distrusted by many 
believers because he had aforetime persecuted them. Him 
I knew not how to measure in the first days after his con¬ 
version, for that I deemed his restless energy consorted ill 
with the quiet demeanor of the elder disciples. Yet he was 
a man of imperious spirit to whom I could not refuse an 
attentive ear when he prayed. 

But with what astonishment did I one day hear him call 
on me from beyond the limits of mine own land, demand¬ 
ing my presence. 

Looking well to it that I set not my foot over the border, 
I called to him, “ What doest thou there, my son? ” 

To which he answered, “ Come thou and see.” 

And I said: “ Nay! It is alien land where thou standest. 
I shall not cross over.” 


I, YAHWEH 


152 

Then Paul laughed, and as one who would impart news 
he told me that which I knew already: “ There be many 
Jews in these regions.” 

“ Aye,” was mine answer. “ The Jews will go to the ends 
of the earth to trade; yet do they remain alien.” 

Again did Paul laugh. And he asked: “ Knowest thou 
not thine own folk, Yahweh? Where a Jew doth set his 
foot he maketh himself at home, even though in his heart 
he abide close to the temple. And whither his people ad¬ 
venture, there may a god go.” 

“ Not so,” I returned. “ The god may indeed send com¬ 
fort and succor to them that are afar off, but himself should 
stop at the edge of his proper domain. By loyalty to his 
soil, by promoting the well-being of them that dwell there¬ 
on, and by avoidance of strange places doth he confirm his 
special godship.” 

There followed a silence between us, and I was on point 
of returning to Jerusalem. But I heard Paul’s voice again, 
and it came broken as though agitated by laughter: 
“ Where, Yahweh, didst thou find Abraham? ” 

“ In Ur of the Chaldees,” I told him. 

“ Also, thou wast once in the land of Babylon? ” 

“ Thou sayest truth.” 

He questioned me no further. Nor was there need. 
Reflection on the purport of his questioning shed light 
upon my thought. For not only had I been in the places 
mentioned by him, but fleeting memories of some land 
familiar to me in the days before my Chaldean sojourn now 
played in and out among my clearer remembrances. And 
I recalled that of mine own free choice I had made the soil 
of Palestine peculiar to myself. 

“ Abide where thou art,” I commanded. “ It may be I 
shall join thee ere long. But only for the purpose that we 
may commune face to face. Forget not that by peculiar 


I BECOME A CHRISTIAN 153 

and ancient commitments I am god of one blood and one 
soil. Let not thine early residence among the gentiles 
render thee less the Jew.” For I bore in mind that he was 
of Tarsus, a city that lieth nigh to the crossroads of the 
world. 

Strange, yet pleasant withal, was the prospect of over¬ 
passing the bounds of Judea. And when presently I set 
forth to hold converse with Paul according to my word it 
appeared to me that the earth was no less fair in territories 
not mine own. 

When I came upon him, Paul was seated before a table 
in the house of a gentile, and he wrote in a scroll, as was 
his custom when he meditated. Answering my question 
why he pressed so urgently for my company in a profane 
land, he said, without looking up, “ Because the time is 
ripe, Yahweh, for thee and me to bear the good news of the 
Galilean far afield to the gentiles.” 

Once before, and then in the presence of the Galilean, 
had I known such consternation as now seized me. “ Far 
afield to the gentiles! ” It liked me well to be briefly free of 
my too familiar moorings; but to journey long and far 
under strange skies might come to mean forfeiture of my 
special attachments. Yet no less than this did Paul ask of 
me. Not then did I see that he had lured me from the 
close harborage of my Judaism to a great and wide sea o’er 
which I should in future direct the destinies of many peo¬ 
ples. I saw only the rocks that threatened my godship. 

“ Paul, Paul! ” I cried. “ Art thou mad? Hast thou 
clean forgotten that I am of the Jews only? ” 

He looked oil me with a calm that held no sympathy with 
my fears. Nonetheless, a line between his brows told how 
quickly might he answer provocation with a frown. “ Thou 
hast already many proselytes among the gentiles,” he re¬ 
minded me. 


154 


I, YAHWEH 

“ Yea; but by their free choice,” I protested. “ On suf¬ 
ferance I do indeed receive such gentiles as flee the evils of 
their world to seek shelter in the household of faith. 
Wouldst thou urge me beyond what is meet for a god loyal 
to land and blood? ” 

For answer Paul took up his scroll and read: “ In him 
is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female. 
All are one in him.” 

And when I asked whom the word “ him ” in the scroll 
intended, he answered, “ The Galilean.” 

“ Aye, the Galilean was one who greatly loved his fel¬ 
lows, as is proper in a man, seeing that he shareth the des¬ 
tiny of his kind. But I am a god, who must order my way 
by requirements not laid on man, that arise out of the 
nature of mine attachments to a peculiar people. My duty 
is to the house of Abraham, thy first father, who espoused 
me in his youth and mine. Thou knowest that there is a 
holy covenant between Israel and me, and that I have 
ever rebuked them who have broken it to run after strange 
gods. Shall I now set it aside to run after strange peoples? 
Nay I Let the gentiles who yearn toward me come as afore¬ 
time and be circumcised. So shall they become sons by 
adoption of the hallowed land. It is not fitting that they 
should be led to expect any closer relationship with my 
people or with me.” 

Then Paul cast aside parchment and pen, rose up, set his 
feet wide apart and threw back his head — as was his 
wont in argument. And he said: “ Did Abraham differ 
in body from other men when thou didst find him among 
the Chaldeans, so that thou wert moved to choose him 
for his body’s sake? Had he not the flesh and blood, the 
bones, skin and sinews of all men? Aye, he was like to a 
thousand others in respect of his body, thou must allow. 
Wherein, then, did he differ? In the spirit only, thou wilt 


I BECOME A CHRISTIAN 155 

say, for of all men of his time and place he yearned after 
righteousness. Therefore his children are not those that 
are bom Hebrews after the flesh, but they that are of a 
spirit like to his. It is the spirit, not the flesh, that doth 
determine who of all mankind are thy sons.” 

He paused, but ere I could reason further with him, 
pressed on with his argument: “ As thou knowest, I was 
born in Tarsus, a gentile city; thou knowest also that I 
have from of old an acquaintance with the world and its 
men such as the other apostles have not. And I testify that 
everywhere have I held speech with men who partake of a 
nobility of mind like to Abraham’s. And many of these 
now hear with gladness my gospel of the Christ, and they 
follow him. These are of the true Israel and heirs accord¬ 
ing to thy promise that in Abraham should all nations be 
blessed.” 

“ Did I indeed so promise? ” I asked; for it had been 
long since I had been reminded of these terms in my cove¬ 
nant. 

“ It is written,” he assured me. “ And the promise was 
given before Israel after the flesh had increased into a 
nation. Wherefore break now the bonds of land and blood. 
The world is open to thee and crieth for the light that 
shone forth from the face of the crucified. To the Jew 
first, if thou wilt, but also to the gentile must the good news 
of the kingdom be preached. Again I say that the time is 
ripe for thee to leave Jerusalem behind as once thou didst 
leave Ur.” 

Now, I was lifted up — as what god would not have 
been? — by this vision of universal godship among the 
righteous, yet I bethought me presently of my previous 
experience in the land of the stranger; how, when my peo¬ 
ple were carried away captive into Babylon, they learned, 
and I with them, many things not wholly in keeping with 


I, YAHWEH 


156 

the prophetic teachings. And I said unto Paul, “ If so be I 
go among the Greeks and Romans, and also mayhap the 
barbarians, how may I escape the contamination of their 
customs and their modes of thought? ” 

And Paul said: “ I, who am well versed in gentile 
thought and customs, have no fear of them. All the reli¬ 
gions of the world, saving only Israel’s, are but light super¬ 
stitions and can be so proved. The teachers in whose com¬ 
pany I have been much from my youth, have in their own 
precepts made plain demonstration that philosophy is 
given to vain imaginings that need not confuse a well 
instructed mind. And as for poetry — why, that hath, 
perhaps, its uses. Certain gentile writers have put down 
truths that may be apt to our purposes. Be not uneasy, 
therefore. All matters that might embarrass thee have been 
foreseen, weighed and settled by me. I shall be ever at 
thine hand; and all lands will welcome thy coming. Thou 
art a greater god than thou hast known and with a proper 
zeal thou wilt make the whole world thine.” 

And I said. If I might be sure that it will be as thou 
dost promise.” 

But Paul, moving his feet impatiently, said, “ In Abra¬ 
ham’s day, when thou didst adventure whither thou knew- 
est not, thou wast not known for a fainthearted god.” 

Then, as if certain that I must be constrained by his firm 
purpose, he fell to packing his few books in his extra 
cloak. 

And as for me, I knew neither how to stay him nor how 
to deny the stirrings that his words had awakened in me. 


Having yielded to mine eagerness to relate the memory 
of one of my greatest and most momentous decisions, I 


I BECOME A CHRISTIAN 1 57 

have told out of order how this masterful man did intro¬ 
duce to me the larger world. It is needful that I turn back 
and recount those events which preceded his ambitious 
emprise and his imperious demand that I join him in it. 

Know, then, that near cockcrow on the fiftieth morn 
after the Galilean’s crucifixion, being in the poorer quarter 
of Jerusalem in order that I might avoid the temple and 
its priesthood and be nigh to the lowly followers of the 
prophet, I saw two men climb the outer stairs of an house to 
an upper room. 

Following these two, I found a company of men, and I 
saw among them some of the twelve who had called them¬ 
selves the prophet’s disciples. All fell silent at the entrance 
of the two; and lo, those with whom I had come were James 
and John, they of the twelve that had been nearest the 
Galilean in the days of his ministry. 

Then John, standing in the midst of the company, lifted 
a psalm chant and the men sang with one accord. And 
afterward Peter addressed them in this wise: “ Men and 
brethren, we know that our Master spake often to us of a 
kingdom which we trusted would shortly come. And 
though we had faith at the first, yet did we despair of its 
coming when he was taken by his accusers. 

“ Nevertheless, through fasting and prayer we have re¬ 
turned to our first faith. And now we remember how he 
said, ‘ The kingdom of heaven is within you,’ and how at 
sundry times he did reveal it unto us. Therefore, inasmuch 
as we have fulfilled the many days of intercession which he 
told us must precede the coming of power from on high, let 
us lift our hearts to the Father again if haply this be the 
time for such outpouring of his spirit as on divers occasions 
he did grant while yet the Master was with us.” 

And when all signified their agreement, Peter prayed 
after this manner: “ O Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac 


158 I, YAHWEH 

and Jacob: Look with favor on us who are as sheep without 
a shepherd; bestow upon us the spirit of righteousness and 
might which he did promise, and inform thou our minds 
with wisdom to work in keeping with thine everlasting 
purposes.” 

And being minded by his words of mine ancient skill 
with the sheep, I yearned toward these men who were like 
a flock with neither fold nor defender. But when I would 
have stretched forth mine hand to grant them, not the boon 
they asked, but such blessing as I could bestow, the matter 
seemed to be taken from my power, for there came an an¬ 
swer from beyond me, even as the sign came to Abraham 
on the plains of Ur. Then did I sense among them a living 
presence which moved them in such wise that they, simple 
men of the people, seemed more than men in their con¬ 
viction of strength. 

And they looked on one another in gladness and amaze¬ 
ment, for each knew that the others had severally received 
again, and more mightily than before, that fullness which 
had on occasion visited their company while the prophet 
yet lived and wrought among them. 

And even as I watched the radiance on their faces, lo, the 
spirit moved in me also, and transformed me after the same 
manner. My darkness was lifted and strength quickened 
within me. And I said: “ The power is mine to be father 
and shepherd to these men; of a surety it is meet that I 
should become one with them, else had not this so befallen 
when Peter invoked my name.” 

And I revealed myself to the men when they spake my 
name in thanksgiving and in songs of praise. And I said: 
“ Look on me, my children. I, Yahweh, am come to succor 
you. Ye perceive that the Galilean lives, whom they cruci¬ 
fied, for ye have felt his presence in your midst. Therefore 
wait not for the opening heavens to disclose him and delay 


I BECOME A CHRISTIAN 


159 

not his heavenly rule. Build ye the kingdom of just men, 
and when he cometh he shall enter speedily into his own. 
Ye have been dowered with wisdom and grace, and I doubt 
not with eloquence to speak his will. Rise therefore and be 
about the business of the kingdom. I will uphold your 
hands.” 

Whereupon they went forth, and the triumph of their 
faith began in that same hour. And this was the manner 
of it. 

There were in Jerusalem multitudes of Jews from all 
places in the world who had come to keep the feast of 
the Passover. And when it was told among them that a 
strange visitation had come upon the disciples in the upper 
room, they came to where the brethren were housed. And 
Peter went out to them and preached that Jesus was Mes¬ 
siah, and many were made disciples on that day. 

Then began those times of gladness in Jerusalem whereof 
the disciples of the Nazarene have written in the records 
of the faith. The zealous ministry of them that had loved 
the Master while he was on earth and had received his 
spirit after his death won many to the teachings of the Gali¬ 
lean and brought many more to acknowledge him openly 
who had inclined toward him during his life but had put 
off acknowledgment through fear. So that where one loved 
him in life, a thousand loved him after his going hence. 

And in all of them, whether those who had known him 
aforetime or those who had but lately come to revere him, 
was the hope that he would shortly return to set up his 
kingdom on earth. Therefore, while they abated not their 
good works, they nevertheless looked on the world as an 
evil to be endured for a season, trusting each morning that 
the sun would not reach the zenith ere the heavens would 
open to reveal to them their Lord. 

Now this hope waxed until it possessed them completely. 


i6o 


I, YAHWEH 


And not only in speech, but in deeds of love was their faith 
shown. And they ordered their lives by the rule of love. 
Every man strove to do to his fellows what he would that 
they should do unto him, and each in charity served the 
others. And they had a common treasury from which any 
who needed might take without the shame of asking from 
another. And they called themselves the People of the 
Way, forasmuch as they said, “ He hath left us an example, 
that we should follow in his steps.” 


Yet the greater number of the Jews believed not on the 
prophet, some saying that his disciples recked too little of 
the things of this world, counting as nought such necessary 
matters as profit and governance, and others saying that 
they took too little thought for the tradition of the elders. 
And of these latter was a man of note among the Jews, by 
name Saul, the same who later called me to leave the coun¬ 
try of my people, as I have already related. In zeal for the 
faith of his fathers none outdid him, and few could match 
his mind in breadth of understanding or subtlety of 
thought. Moreover, that which he found worthy of doing 
he did with his might. 

And those Jews who for either cause believed not on the 
prophet took counsel with Saul and entrusted him to deal 
as he thought expedient with such as followed the new way. 

Now there was in Jerusalem a synagogue of freedmen 
who had once been slaves in Rome. And because these 
were denied the full rights of Jews born free in Jerusalem, 
they were the more desirous of making show of their attach¬ 
ment to the law, hoping thereby to win favor with the 
native-born. And they said, “ Let us take up cause against 
these Galilean heretics who do hold all things in common.” 

Wherefore certain of this company raised an outcry 


I BECOME A CHRISTIAN 161 

against Stephen, a Greek youth who had embraced the 
Galilean faith, and the council condemned him to death by 
stoning. 

And Saul joined them that gathered beyond the city wall 
to execute this judgment. And while for dignity’s sake he 
took no part in the stoning, yet he held the garments of 
those who cast the stones and thus gave his consent to 
Stephen’s death. And looking on the face of Stephen, 
Saul beheld it glowing with that radiance that set the faces 
of the Galilean’s followers apart from others in that time. 
And Saul stubbornly veiled his eyes. But the face of 
Stephen as he died was with Saul from that time forth. 

Now for a season Saul strove to silence the witness of 
Stephen that was in his heart, and seeking to do what he 
supposed was my will did ever contrive acts of violence 
against the believers. And having on a certain day ob¬ 
tained from the high priest letters which gave him author¬ 
ity to deal as he would with all people of the Way he made 
him ready to go to Damascus. 

And it came to pass that, as he went from the house of 
the high priest to his own lodging, Saul stopped at the cor¬ 
ner of the street to pray, as was the manner of the Pharisees, 
and he addressed me, saying: 

“ O Yahweh, whose servant I am, thou stern judge of all 
who do contrary to the temple laws: Grant that at Damas¬ 
cus I may have power to crush the Galilean doctrine root 
and branch ere it spread as it hath done in Jerusalem.” 

And I thought: “ Behold with what zeal this man per- 
formeth that which he believeth to be my will. Surely it 
were meet for me to reveal myself unto him, that he may 
know the error of his way and turn and become a bulwark 
unto those whom he now persecuteth.” 

Wherefore I spake plainly unto him, saying, “ Persecute 
these no more.” 

Saul looked to see who it was that spake thus, and seeing 


I, YAHWEH 


16 2 

none but such as went along the street about their business 
he was sore afraid; and he said unto himself, “ I am com- 
panied of an evil spirit who taketh oft the form of Stephen 
and now speaketh out of emptiness, counseling me to turn 
back from my righteous purpose/' 

Yet he turned not back, but the rather gathered in haste 
those that purposed to go with him to Damascus, and they 
departed, albeit the day was well-nigh spent; wherefore 
certain urged that they should tarry until the morrow. 

Now night overtook them shortly in the way, and Saul 
and they that were with him tethered their beasts and 
themselves sought shelter in a wayside khan. But Saul 
was troubled in his sleep, so that those who lay with him in 
the straw took heed of his moanings. And they called upon 
a wise man of their number that he should question Saul 
what ailed him, lest none in the khan find rest that night 
for the morrow’s journey. For Saul did groan continually, 
and he cried, “ Yahweh, I beseech thee deliver me out of 
this distress.” 

And the wise man waked him and said, “ Tell me, son, 
thy trouble, if haply my counsel may ease thee of it.” 

To whom Saul answering said, “ Alas, I know not, but 
when I sleep I am as one who struggles in a quicksand 
wherein I feel an awful accusation upon my soul, though 
I know not why, inasmuch as no man is more apt than I 
to serve Yahweh.” 

While the wise man pondered how to answer, I did 
speak once more, saying: “ Turn back from persecuting 
the Galilean’s people. Then shalt thou find peace. I, 
Yahweh, promise thee.” 

Then Saul sprang from the straw and ran and stood in 
a corner of the wall with his mantle over his head, and he 
cried, “ Ah Lord God of Israel, cast me not away from thy 
presence, but deliver me from this confusion of my mind 


I BECOME A CHRISTIAN 163 

wherein I hear words that my conscience allows not.” 
And they that knew not Saul whispered one to another, 
“ Surely this man is possessed of a devil.” Wherefore they 
departed softly from the khan and lay down beside their 
beasts. 

When the company, drawing near to Damascus, traveled 
in the heat of noonday, the sun’s white glare stung their 
eyes until the desert burned with whirling colors; but Saul 
shivered and leaned forward, clinging to the neck of the ass 
that bore him. For the terror that had hitherto claimed 
him only in the night took him now at the height of day. 
And he drew comfort from the solid flesh of the beast and 
from her warmth and from the salt taste of her sweat upon 
his lips. 

But suddenly the ass stumbled and fell, and Saul fell also 
and lay on the ground as one dead. And I drew near and 
would have laid my hand upon him to succor him, but there 
came about us twain a blaze of light, and in the midst of it 
the face of Stephen, transfigured even as it had been in the 
ecstasy of his martyr death. And lo, the countenance of 
Stephen dissolved and took on the likeness of one whom 
Saul had never seen. Yet Saul knew well on whom he 
looked. And he cried, “ Who art thou, Lord? ” 

And a voice that Saul had never heard answered, “ I am 
Jesus the Galilean, whom thou persecutest.” And the 
voice said also, “ Thou art a chosen vessel unto me to bear 
my name to the gentiles.” 

And power came upon Saul even as it had come upon 
those in the upper room. And from that moment Saul 
knew the end for which he had been born. 


164 


I, YAHWEH 


Now when he had passed certain days in Damascus, I 
appeared unto Saul and said, “ Get thee up to Jerusalem, 
my son, and take counsel with Peter and those others who 
had instruction of the Galilean while he yet lived.” 

But he answered and said: “ What need have I to take 
counsel with such as they? Have I not seen the Lord and 
hath he not made known his will concerning the uses of my 
life? ” 

And he went not up to Jerusalem but down into Arabia; 
and he dwelt apart for three years, pondering on what he 
had seen and how he should proclaim the Galilean and his 
teachings. 

When Saul came up out of Arabia he preached to both 
Jew and gentile in Judea and in the provinces, yet he testi¬ 
fied chiefly to the Jews round about Antioch in Syria. 

It was after this Syrian activity that he began his farther 
journeyings. And ere long I joined him, under what cir¬ 
cumstances I have already set down. And even as Saul in 
the hour of his conversion did know wherefore he had come 
into the world, so did I also with great rejoicing perceive 
the higher ends of my godship as together we set foot on 
the road to the great empire of the west. “ The ages have 
had this destiny in keeping for me,” I said, “ the prophets 
have tutored me expressly for it; and now shall I right will¬ 
ingly assume the charge of universal godhead.” 

Now when Saul essayed to go into the gentile world he 
took the name Paul whereby he became known of all men, 
inasmuch as he enscribed it on the letters which he wrote 
to the churches of his founding. And I was amazed to see 
how closely his ways fitted the gentile ways, and how he was 
able to speak to each man of the affairs of his city. The 
kindness of his heart won the humble, while his fearlessness 


I BECOME A CHRISTIAN 165 

of speech commended him to men highly placed. So that 
where one hearkened in Judea, an hundred gave assent in 
the gentile lands. 

Especially did Paul attune his message to them that were 
without earthly hope, and so skillfully that it found ready 
acceptance. To these did he teach that the Galilean would 
shortly come back to earth to give deliverance from sorrow 
and entrance into everlasting life to all who would follow 
his way; for of this all Christians, as the Galilean’s followers 
had come to be called, were persuaded. Wherefore they 
whom the world had broken, as well as many fortunate 
people of noble mind, renounced their ancestral gods, 
choosing to worship me and reverence the Galilean. Thus 
it came to pass that there were more believers in gentile 
lands than would have been in Judea and the provinces 
had the other apostles converted all the Jews that were in 
them. 

When I saw this, I inquired of Paul how he was able to 
make himself so readily accepted of the gentiles, speaking 
their tongues and conversing of their affairs as a neighbor 
lately returned from a far country, and loving them as his 
own people. 

Whereto he answered: “ Thou knowest that I am of 
Tarsus. But perchance thou hast not considered how it is 
with youth who live where the ships come in. When I was 
a boy in my city on the banks of the river Cydnus I was 
wont to go down to the waterside when I heard the song 
of the rowers. Then would I see the sun flashing from the 
oars and the sail spilling the wind as the deep-laden galley 
swept to the walled bank like a great bird of the sea. 

“ Now my fellows were wont to depart when the bales 
of merchandise had been borne to the shore, but it was 
ever my custom to linger and seek converse with Greek, 
Roman or barbarian, dark men from below Egypt or fair- 


i66 


I, YAHWEH 


haired Gauls, while they rested from their toil. These it 
irked not to while away an hour in an alien land telling a 
stranger lad of their homes. And hearkening to their 
speech that mingled their native tongues with the common 
language of the Greeks, I learned wherein man differs and 
wherein he is the same, whether he dwelleth in shining 
Gades or in a straw village of the sunless forest, whether 
he be senator, lictor, philosopher, poet, slave, merchant, 
artisan, or one having authority over wares from the ends 
of the earth.” 

And I said unto Paul, “ Hadst thou in those days no de¬ 
sire to company these seafaring men to the lands whereof 
they spake? ” 

And he answered: “ Yea. Nor did there lack occasion 
when a captain spake between jest and earnest to try me. 
Yet being a Jew I went only to Jerusalem, for I said in my 
heart that the time had come to put away childish things. 
Even so, when the Master appeared unto me on the Damas¬ 
cus road and laid on me the charge to preach unto the gen¬ 
tiles, I started not immediately forth, for I said: ‘ Mayhap 
I read into this command mine own desires. Be there not 
gentiles to preach to in Judea? ’ Albeit I forbore not to 
plan this larger mission to the world. For I said, ‘ Yahweh 
is the universal God, as Christ is the world’s Messiah.’ ” 

Now I was given to think on how our great mission to 
the gentiles depended from a thin thread of chance. And 
I said unto Paul, “ What thinkest thou would have be¬ 
fallen if thou hadst not been born in Tarsus? ” 

And Paul smiled, saying, “ In sooth I might now be a 
bearded rabbi in Jerusalem, teaching in temple and con¬ 
ferring in Sanhedrin concerning the law, to what profit 
thou knowest.” 

But I said: “ Nay, Paul, who then would have carried the 
message to the gentiles? Would Peter or would John? ” 


I BECOME A CHRISTIAN 167 

And Paul smiled yet again, saying, “ Mayhap the Master 
had appeared on the Damascus road to some other from 
Tarsus.” 

Then said I, albeit not aloud, “ None other would have 
so pleased me as thyself, Paul.” 

Now Paul purposed to live like those among whom he 
preached. But I mean not that he lived softly. For he 
said, “ Let us follow their customs lest we offend and lest 
our argument be of the table while we might to greater 
profit speak of the kingdom.” Whereby he did suffer much 
through those Christians of Jewish blood who held that no 
gentile might enter the church except he first profess the 
olden customs of the Jews. These followed Paul, remark¬ 
ing on all that he did, or, shunning the peril of his jour¬ 
neys, sent letters before to embarrass him with those whom 
he purposed to visit. Furthermore, he was subjected to 
scourging, imprisonment, hunger; tossed by violent seas 
and made footsore on the rough ways of many lands. Yet 
through all, and even unto the end of his life, the hope 
upheld him that he might live to see the kingdom; and he 
died with expectation that presently would he be raised up 
to dwell in it. 

And I mourned for Paul, yet was I not desolate, for it 
liked me well to be the god of all nations; and in bringing 
about this fulfillment of ancient prophecy, Paul had found 
me pleasant habitations among peoples whom I long had 
deemed alien to my covenant with Israel. 


XI 


BEHOLD THESE CHRISTIANS! 


How while Paul yet lived the grain of mustard seed 
which was the church so grew and flourished that there 
were Christians everywhere. Aye, even in Caesar’s house¬ 
hold. And for a time those in authority heeded them not, 
saying, “ It is but a new sect of the Jews; and albeit he may 
be troublesome in his own land yet in the empire the Jew 
hath his uses.” Moreover, they watched for the seeds of 
sedition and discovered none. 

Yet it came to pass that the populace found occasion for 
offense in the Christians, calling them haters of men, for¬ 
asmuch as I had laid upon them the command that they con¬ 
sort not with unbelievers, except that they preach unto 
them, nor share in their public games and chariot races, 
their weddings, banquets and family feasts. 

Also did I charge them to shun the common markets, 
wherein was exposed for sale meat that had been offered as 
sacrifice to idols. Against the corrupting pursuit of wealth 
I warned them, counseling them, moreover, that they be¬ 
come not rhetoricians, advocates, physicians, wigmakers, 
purveyors of henna, perfumers, butchers, sellers or makers 
of fashionable raiment, charioteers, soothsayers, actors, ad- 

168 






BEHOLD THESE CHRISTIANS! 169 

ministrators of public affairs, lest they be drawn into the 
ways of common life. Nor did they complain greatly, in¬ 
asmuch as many came from the humbler walks and cher¬ 
ished no overweening ambitions. 

But the populace liked it not that the Christians should 
so hold themselves apart, and they whispered against them, 
saying: “ These Christians do ever congregate in secret. 
Haply their closed doors hide rites that are unlawful or not 
fit to be seen and known.” 

Moreover they feared the Christians, who made not the 
customary offerings of courtesy upon the altars of the 
Roman gods. For these gods had in their keeping the des¬ 
tinies of the empire and might withhold protection, aye, 
perchance send calamity, should they be wroth that so 
large a body refused to pay them honor. 

Wherefore persecutions were visited upon the church, 
and my people were herded into the arena to be torn by 
wild beasts, or they were covered with pitch and burned 
like torches, or they were crucified after the manner of 
their Master. And I grieved for my ravished saints. 

It came to pass upon a night that I stood in the amphi¬ 
theater at Carthage beside one who though left for dead 
yet breathed and called upon my name. And when I saw 
the courage and faith of this broken remnant from the many 
who had that day given witness for me by their suffering, 
my pride overcame my sorrow, and I was mindful in that 
moment of the efficacy of martyrdom. Wherefore I cried 
aloud, saying: “ The blood of the martyrs is the seed of 
the church. Wherever it doth fall new life springeth an 
hundredfold.” To myself I said, “ Blessed am I, Yahweh, 
in that I am god to this martyr people.” 


170 


I, YAHWEH 


Then, even as I exulted, I heard voices calling upon me 
that had never called before. Yet what they lifted seemed 
not a prayer but rather an incantation. And marking that 
it proceeded from the barracks of the African legion hard 
by the amphitheater, I said: “ They are drunken and seek 
to mock me.” But since their crying abated not, at about 
cockcrow I went in unto them. 

And behold, a score of men were gathered in the small 
room of a tower. I marveled to see that they diced not, 
as was the custom of soldiers at ease, but rather watched 
while he who was sergeant over them marked on the earthen 
floor with his dagger point, saying: “ Here is a fish, symbol 
of that Christus who the Christians say was a prophet and 
the son of their god; and here a likeness of the cross, that 
instrument of his death which is revered by them. It may 
be these will compel an answer from the god.” 

Wroth because of their attempt to bring me to them 
by sorcery, I rebuked them, saying: “ Have done, ye wicked 
and superstitious men. Think ye that I am a base spirit 
of the earth to be summoned by signs and mumblings? Or 
reck ye that I am minded to traffic with those whose calling 
it is to shed Christian blood?” 

When they beheld me in their midst the men were sore 
afraid, so that they put their shields before their faces. And 
their sergeant so shook that the dagger wherewith he had 
drawn the fish dropped from his hand. Nonetheless I saw 
that because his men looked to him to be their spokesman 
he, for shame’s sake, put down an impulse to flee. 

“ Be not angry, my Lord,” he said. “ We but seek to be¬ 
come Christians and know not how.” 

Astounded, I asked: “ Can this be? The prophet’s teach¬ 
ing and example are against the whole set and urge of 


BEHOLD THESE CHRISTIANS! 171 

your life, forasmuch as ye are men of violent nature and 
brutal deeds who have this very day put above fourscore 
Christians to the death. Heard I aright — that ye would 
join your blood-stained members to the Body of Christ? ” 

I wondered not that the sergeant had said, “ We know 
not how.” For albeit my children prayed for these emis¬ 
saries of death and strove to love them in obedience to the 
Master’s command, yet would they have no voluntary deal¬ 
ings with them. And I allowed, aye, encouraged this aver¬ 
sion. Thieves, adulterers, suborners, gluttons, drunkards, 
givers and takers of bribes, being penitent, might be re¬ 
ceived into the church. But since I had become the Chris¬ 
tians’ god it had not entered my thought that the soldier 
might so much as look toward the threshold. 

Bethinking me that these men perchance thought only 
to win easy advancement through some believing friend 
in Caesar’s household, I asked why they desired to become 
Christians. 

“ Because,” answered the sergeant, “ we have seen the 
Christians live and watched them die.” 

When I questioned them more closely, each in his turn 
testified, one saying: “ We of the legion, being face to face 
with death, can look upon it unafraid, for we are trained 
of body and advantaged by the weapons that Caesar gives us. 
But they, naked and helpless, embrace with joy the death 
that they can neither resist nor flee.” 

And another:' “ We are bound together by rules of the 
military; the Christians are one in love.” 

And another: “ We have seen their households, and even 
as we have entered to take them over for death, have beheld 
the goodness of their life. The beauty of their children, 
tenderly cherished, their chaste wives, their virgin daugh¬ 
ters, their sons whose continence in the burning days of 
young manhood doth honor the sobriety of the fathers! 


I, YAHWEH 


173 

Under Caesar’s orders we put them to the sword, yet, even as 
thou seest, they have conquered us.” 

Whereupon a sad-faced warrior took up the thread of 
his comrade’s thought. “ Thou dost well to speak of their 
life, Marcus. For it is life indeed whereof they preach and 
which sustaineth them in their hour of need. We who 
worship our ancestral gods may in dying look only for the 
gloom of the underworld; wherefore we carry the bitter¬ 
ness of our mortality into the eternal regions. But as the 
Christians die meseemeth they look as if through a gate 
upon an immortal life full of heavenly glory.” 

Then the centurion of the guard summed up the argu¬ 
ment of all, saying, “ Thou seest therefore that we who 
have looked upon the Christians do with reason desire to 
become as they are.” 

Nonetheless, being not unaccustomed to the oblique ways 
of the pagan world, I said: “ Aye, ye would share their 
living. Would ye share also their martyr death? ” 

He answered, saying, ‘‘That also, if we be judged 
worthy.” 

When he so spake I cast about how I might give him 
hope, and finding none told him shortly: “ Were ye male¬ 
factors of the common sort ye should be purged and in¬ 
structed, and afterward welcomed into the Christian com¬ 
munity. But being soldiers ye are caught in a net from 
which there is no escape. Can ye inflict upon yourselves 
the death that it is your calling to inflict upon others? Nay, 
albeit I sorrow for you exceedingly, inasmuch as your eyes 
behold the beauties of the kingdom and your spirits long 
to enter therein, yet must ye surely perish without the 
gates.” 

And even as they cried upon me for mercy, saying, “ We 
have heard that thou art a god mighty to save,” I bethought 
me how I had myself in times past been a god of war, and 


BEHOLD THESE CHRISTIANS! 173 

I said, “ Let each lay down his sword, even as I have done, 
and haply he shall forget, even as I have almost forgotten, 
that once he handled it.” 

But the sergeant made plain unto me that such was not 
possible for men bound for certain years unto Caesar. 
Whereupon I counseled them that as many as might should 
buy their freedom, and those who could not should devote 
themselves to the part of their calling that concerned keep¬ 
ing Caesar’s peace, and if so be they were sent into battle 
they should go with their fellows but smite not. And they 
brake every man his sword across his knee. 

Thereafter I bethought me: “ If these few should leaven 
the loaf of Caesar’s legion, whom then would Caesar 
command? Perchance it is thus that the kingdom of right¬ 
eousness shall come.” For not knowing what should soon 
befall, I reasoned, “ If not these his soldiers, then Caesar 
himself is our adversary.” 


Now in the fullness of time it came to pass that all the 
men that had known Jesus when he walked in Galilee were 
gathered to their fathers; green mold grew on the burial 
urns of them that first published his gospel in far and peril¬ 
ous places; the little ones whom he took in his arms to bless 
had grown to man’s estate or matronhood, had looked on 
their children’s children, and, hoary with age, had folded 
them their hands in timeless sleep. Yet had the Galilean 
not returned. Almost had the expectation of his appearing 
perished from the minds of men. Seldom now did a be¬ 
liever peer into the morning sky and say, “ Perhaps today, 
or it may be tomorrow. ...” 

On my part, I avoided now mention of the fading hope. 
Concerning the truth of his teaching and the authority of 


174 I, YAHWEH 

his example no question did I entertain. Nor did I doubt 
that he still lived or that his invisible presence trod the 
rough highways of the world, breathing courage into the 
souls of the troubled and putting a strong hand under 
the arm of the faint. But would the years once again dis¬ 
close his form to mortal eye? 

One thing I knew. If his coming were long delayed my 
people could not profitably continue to look upon the 
world as an evil to be endured for a season. The Christian 
discipline must be no longer preparation for an heavenly 
kingdom to come, but must commend itself to all as a way 
above any other for the life on earth. And those that be¬ 
lieved must prove that Yahweh of Israel and the spirit of 
the Galilean could better rule the nations and order their 
lives than had the pagan gods. They must testify that 
affairs of the world were in a sense also divine. 

Wherefore I determined to lift the ban that I had put 
upon the trades and professions and bid my people take 
a freer part in affairs, yet laying it strictly on their con¬ 
sciences that their hearts be pure and their hands clean of 
violence and greed. 

To this end I called before me certain of their leaders 
and spake my mind. And even as I strove to persuade them, 
they looked sidewise on one another, as if settling which 
among them should answer me. And when I had finished, 
he who had been thus loosely appointed did address me 
after the manner of a child asking permission for that which 
hath already been done, saying: 

“ Thou hast graciously vouchsafed thy will unto us. Even 
so shall we do. And lest thou doubt their readiness, my 
fellows would have me make it known unto thee that they 
have in a measure anticipated thy will. Already have we 
taken some short steps in the way which thou dost lay out be¬ 
fore us. There are now among us administrators of public 


BEHOLD THESE CHRISTIANS! 175 

affairs, actors, soothsayers, charioteers, makers and sellers 
of fashionable raiment, butchers, perfumers, purveyors 
of henna, wigmakers, physicians, advocates, rhetoricians. 
We have also philosophers well versed in Greek thought 
who sit in seats of authority in the churches. There are 
no honorable trades or professions lacking.” 

Though I marveled at their forehandedness, I said only, 
“ It is well,” and rebuked them not, yet counseled them 
strictly that they study the demands of justice and do all 
in accordance with charity. 

Whereto they gave their assent. And with their side- 
wise looks they designated a second of their number to 
address me, who, whispering from behind his hand, spake 
thus: “ Publish it not abroad, but perchance at no very 
distant day we shall get thee a Christian upon the imperial 
throne.” 

Whereat they departed as if in haste to be about their 
business. 

And I, wondering at their so great assurance, called after 
them, “ Study to be humble, I charge you.” 

Thereafter I watched for a time more narrowly. And 
I marked that the Christian services were not in all ways as 
they had been in the days of the apostles. For at the Lord’s 
Supper, which had hitherto been celebrated in simple re¬ 
membrance of the Galilean’s death, I now heard talk of 
a wondrous transaction that took place under the hands of 
the priests who made ready the tokens of bread and wine, 
and of a miracle whereby these plain elements were changed 
into the nature of deity, so that the believers might partake 
of the very life of their god. And I inquired of a chief of 
the clergy concerning this change, and he made answer, 
“ These things are spoken in a figure — yet perchance there 
is a reality also that goeth beyond speech.” 

I sensed the direction of his words and said: “ Ah! I per- 


I, YAHWEH 


176 

ceive that ye have gone further than to make yourselves 
rhetoricians and barbers. You have indeed turned phi¬ 
losophers, as ye said but recently. I doubt not that you 
have been toying with those mystery religions that come 
out of the east. They have of late prospered much in the 
empire, I am given to understand. Doubtless they have 
set your minds agog with the claim that their initiates par¬ 
take of the substance of a deity sacrificed for the renewing 
of earth and man. But mark! There was once a Canaan- 
ite named Ben-Ammon who whispered in Abraham’s ear 
that a god must wax great through the sacrifice of his people. 
Now ye would reverse matters and seek a boon through the 
death of your god! ” 

“ Nay, Yahweh; far be it from thy servants. But did 
not Jesus the Nazarene die a sacrifice upon the cross? 
Should we not become as partakers of his divine life? ” 

“ Ye ought indeed,” said I. “ But his life is mediated 
through the spirit and not through earthy substances.” 

“ We argue not the point,” said the priest. “ We are 
neither minded nor prepared to make a law of it at the 
present. Yet is it not meet that thy priesthood have this 
or other superhuman agency in their keeping, whereby 
they may deliver men from the destruction that attendeth 
upon sin? ” 

Now there were certain prayers that had lately come 
up to me out of Egypt, which I answered not, forasmuch as 
they seemed but obscure wailings and lacked the assurance 
and gladness proper to the petitions of those who held 
themselves children of the Father. But being now in a 
mood to seek out that which was amiss, I hastened to where 
a doleful cry arose in the waste region on the yonder side 
of the pyramids: “ All, Lord God; ah, Lord most merciful; 


BEHOLD THESE CHRISTIANS! 177 

ah, thou just Judge of sinful men; let me not die in mine 
iniquity.” 

And I beheld the petitioner coming toward me across 
the sands. And he walked so bowed over that his head was 
beneath the line of his shoulders, and his hair hung matted 
before his face. Over his bones there seemed to be no 
flesh, but only skin. And ever as he came he sighed, “ Ah, 
Lord God; ah, Lord God.” 

“ Art thou man or beast? ” I cried. 

“ I am man, God pity me,” he croaked in a hollow voice. 

“ What! God pity thee for being man? ” I would have 
questioned; but marking his estate and mindful of the 
afflictions that had in times past befallen Job, I said rather, 
“ What thing hath brought thee to this horrible condition 
of body? ” 

And he answered me, “ Sin.” 

When I asked him the nature of his sin, that I might the 
more readily turn him to repentance, he said only, “ Adam’s 
offense.” 

Yet when I inquired more closely concerning this Adam 
who had offended against him, he replied: “ Did not Adam 
eat the apple in defiance of God’s express command? And 
doth not the flesh corrupt the soul by an inheritance of 
sin from our first father? ” And for the chastisement of 
his soul, as he said, he fell to rubbing sand into the ulcers 
that were upon his feet. 

“ Hast never heard of sin? ” he asked, after a moment. 

And I answered him, saying: “ I have indeed heard of 
sins and in my time have seen many committed. But they 
have been offenses in particular, done severally by each man 
for himself. Sin, this common disease transmitted from the 
first man to all, I know not.” 

Whereupon he led me to a fallen tomb in whose corner 
he had his abode, and thrusting his wasted fingers under 


I, YAHWEH 


178 

a block of sandstone curiously wrought by some craftsman 
of ancient time, he brought out a parchment and unrolled 
it, saying, “ These be the words of that most holy apostle 
and martyr, Paul.” 

Picking here and there in the scroll, he read unto me: 
“ In Adam all die,” and “ The flesh lusteth against the 
spirit,” and “ This corruptible must put on incorruption,” 
with other like sayings, and having read he interpreted 
them after this manner: “ In these plain words doth the 
chief instructor of our faith describe the state of iniquity 
into which men are by nature born, and from which, cer¬ 
tainly, there can be no deliverance wrought save by humili¬ 
ation of the carnal members.” 

When I would have reasoned with him, he took me for 
my further conviction to some huts where others as worn 
and ulcerous as himself were gathered together. And these 
told proudly of their harsh and relentless dealings with 
their bodies, how they had starved and scourged them¬ 
selves, renounced conjugal love and the sweet joys of father¬ 
hood, gone unclothed in the sun of Egypt and the snows 
of Macedonia. And ever and anon they did pause in speak¬ 
ing thus proudly of themselves to speak disparagingly of 
such as had not the fortitude to enter upon like austerities. 

Knowing not how I should seek to confute them I did 
the rather humor them, saying, “ It is well to keep the 
body under,” and inquiring, “ How do you detect the 
presence of this dread affliction of the soul that cometh 
through your flesh? ” 

Whereupon they did all laugh in derision, except one 
who made answer: “ How know we? Why, as a man know- 
eth when his body is afflicted. The corruption that work- 
eth in us doth testify to itself by strong pangs of the spirit. 
In remorse of conscience, in self-distrust, and in anticipation 
of punishment for sins unforgiven do we suffer.” 


BEHOLD THESE CHRISTIANS! 179 

And I humored them yet again, saying: “ Who should 
know the presence of disease better than the sick? If ye 
truly have this inward testimony of bitter pain, one must 
believe your report.” 

But he who had last spoken said, “ We suffer only what 
sooner or later all will be compelled to endure.” 


Even as he spoke I thought uneasily of the evil I had 
seen in men. True, there had been prophets and martyrs. 
But who could say what pride of opinion had made the 
prophets bold to speak, what hope of eternal rewards had 
armed the saints with courage? The radiance that had 
marked the early followers of the Galilean — had it been 
but the glow of dawn on a day of murk and storm? 

I bethought me then of certain words from the elder 
wisdom: “ Where there is no vision the people perish.” 
And what a younger wisdom had not yet said was in a 
measure true of me: “ When fails the prophet’s word the 
gods themselves do languish.” For I had marked even then 
that in the priestly times that do ever come between proph¬ 
ets I was less myself, for all that the priests gave me author¬ 
ity, riches and power. 

Nonetheless upon this occasion I thought: “ The present 
evil needs no prophet. For surely even a theologian can 
see that this doctrine of self-punishment for uncommitted 
sin hath no place in the Galilean’s teaching, nay, runneth 
counter to that which he said concerning repentance and 
forgiveness and having life more abundantly.” Wherefore 
I sought out, when next he prayed, him who at that time 
was Bishop of Rome; for I said, “ It is he who will have 
fullest authority to deal with this error before it spread.” 

Like many another who calleth me, the bishop knew me 


I, YAHWEH 


l80 

not as Yahweh, but rising quickly from his knees and mak¬ 
ing no recognition of my presence, he fell to busying him¬ 
self with affairs both,secular and spiritual. For already were 
bishops becoming men of power in the temporal order. 

There was that in his face which made me know that he 
had at this moment no leisure for the intricacies of theology. 
Wherefore I proceeded at once to the effects of the doctrine, 
saying: “ Thou dost call thyself in thy prayer a miserable 
sinner. How if thou feel neither power nor worth in thy¬ 
self shalt thou have hope whereby to build the kingdom? ” 

“ What kingdom? ” asked the bishop. “ Cease speaking 
in riddles, for I am pressed under the weight of many affairs. 
But nay, take not time by answering. Mayhap I see what 
thou hast in mind, though thy manner of expressing it is 
strange. No doubt thou meanest the kingdom of heaven, 
that happy country beyond the skies to which the righteous 
go at death.” 

“ Not so,” I answered. “ It is the kingdom of the just 
here on earth to which I make reference, the same which 
the olden prophets announced and the Galilean brought 
near to us. For whether it be accomplished by slow degree 
through the efforts of faithful men, or be established at a 
stroke when he cometh the second time, nonetheless it is 
our plain duty to encourage only such doctrines as shall 
prepare men to become citizens in it.” 

Now the bishop sat at an ebony writing table on which 
among his papers there lay a dish of rare fruits with a silver 
knife in it, and a crystal bowl of perfumed water beside. 
For the rulers of the church had already begun to live deli¬ 
cately. And on the wall above the table hung a golden 
crucifix cunningly fashioned and enameled in the Byzan¬ 
tine manner. 

The bishop made toward the crucifix a reverential sign 
and with the same motion took a melon from the dish. And 


BEHOLD THESE CHRISTIANS! l8l 

when he had cut it and separated the flesh of it from its 
rind, he dabbled his fingers in the bowl and wiped them 
on a square of linen cloth edged with purple. Whereupon 
he took on the point of his knife a small piece of the melon 
and lifted it toward his mouth. Then, with the morsel 
poised in air, he turned to me and said: 

“ There is some color of truth in what thou sayest. Here 
and there in the Scriptures are words that might purport 
that at the consummation of time and the end of the world 
a kingdom will descend out of heaven from God. But that, 
no doubt, is yet hid deep in the future. It is better to think 
of that celestial state into which the righteous enter at death, 
since this is close at hand for all.” 

“ It was not so written by the Hebrew prophets,” I ob¬ 
jected. “ Their hope was ever in a resurrection of the 
just upon that day when the messianic kingdom should 
come to earth.” 

“ A curse on the pestilential Jews! ” cried the bishop. 
“ Are they that killed our blessed Lord to become our 
schoolmasters? ” 

And I was sore amazed when he so spake, cutting the 
Galilean from the lineage of mine other prophets. . For 
I had ever thought of his teachings as those that the syna¬ 
gogue would in the fullness of time accept. 

When the bishop marked that I held my peace he re¬ 
turned to his earlier thought, saying: “ Furthermore, this 
comfortable assurance of a speedy deliverance into a state 
of bliss hath an advantage in that it doth strengthen the 
folk who bear the burden of this world’s sorrow and in¬ 
equalities by faith that the afterlife will rectify them wholly. 
In especial doth this patient forbearance have an ennobling 
effect upon the poor.” 

And he put the piece of melon into his mouth. 


XII 


THE CONSECRATED SWORD 


I t came to pass soon after the bishop and I had disputed 
concerning the manner of the kingdom’s coming, that Con¬ 
stantine, a Roman general, becoming emperor, embraced 
the faith, having received the evangel in a dream wherein 
he saw a cross blazoned on the sky with the words, “ By 
this sign shalt thou conquer.” 

Nor did the new emperor delay to call me into his coun¬ 
sels. And when I beheld him kneeling, Saul, my first king, 
seemed once more the mere stripling who chanced upon 
the place of his anointing while he sought after the strayed 
asses of his father; and David’s stature shrank until he was 
but a wild tribal chieftain; and Solomon in all his glory 
paled like a star before the rising sun. I bade the emperor 
rise, and as he took to himself a chair, I said: “ Not since the 
beginning of time until this hour hath a man dowered 
with the will to do good been so dowered also with the 
power. Come, let us tarry no longer, but go down and in¬ 
augurate the reign of justice, love and peace, and the king¬ 
dom of righteousness that was foretold by the prophets.” 

The emperor rose not when I made this proposal, but the 
rather settled himself in his chair, saying, “ Do the bishops 
and clergy move in this direction? ” 






THE CONSECRATED SWORD 183 

“ Nay,” I confessed. “ It is not a present expectation, 
but the hope and logic of the past that I have uttered.” 

And he looked not upon me as I spake, but let his gaze 
travel through the window and across the housetops of 
the city. It rested on the plebeian quarter and on those 
barracks where slaves were housed, and then came back to 
the room. And I thought, “ Mayhap being but lately a 
pagan he hath not been instructed.” Wherefore I ques¬ 
tioned him, saying, “ Thou knowest how the prophets, and 
especially he of Galilee, did teach and labor in behalf of 
the kingdom? ” 

Whereto Constantine nodded his head, saying: “ Aye. 
Something of that nature I have either read or heard. Nor 
should I ask any better thing than to see the enthronement 
of peace, justice and love. Moreover, I shall make it a 
charge upon my conscience to promote these ends as cir¬ 
cumstances and my leisure afford me occasion. But mark 
well: the prophets and Jesus were not burdened with em¬ 
pire as I am.” 

I was amazed to hear him so speak, for I had thought of 
empire not as a burden but only as a fullness of opportunity. 

And continuing, he said: “ My paramount duty is to the 
imperial throne. As thou knowest, when my father Con- 
stantius Chlorus died, there were six who laid claim to 
his seat. Now I only am left. It behooves me to compose 
my realm and consolidate my power, for there be sections 
still that do not accord me full recognition. When this is 
finished shall I have liberty to prosecute the designs of 
which thou hast spoken.” 

But I said: “ Nay, Constantine, these be things that thou 
shouldst accomplish while the cross yet blazes in the heav¬ 
ens and the glow of thy revelation is still upon thee. I have 
waited long for such a man as thou.” 

Whereupon he did reason with me in this wise: “ Verily, 


I, YAHWEH 


184 

Yahweh, by thine own account thou art practiced in wait¬ 
ing. Yet with the goal in view thou showest thyself of a 
sudden as impatient as a child clutching for a fruit not 
fully ripe. Furthermore, to one who can weigh all things 
in a comprehensive act of judgment as thou canst, it must 
be plain that the world is not so unfriendly to the good of 
the many as some would have us believe. For those who 
suffer much and yet hold fast to the Christian faith, is there 
not the sure reward of heaven? ” 

Now I marked that Constantine spake in haste, as one 
who had long wrestled with a troublesome question and, 
finding it still with him, did now seek only to justify its 
postponement. While his mind turned to the point of 
some business which this talk of the kingdom did but 
delay, his eyes wandered toward the table that stood at 
hand for his convenience. And I saw now that on the table 
lay a sword. At that moment Constantine took the sword 
in his hand and began to rub its blade with the hem of 
his toga. Then he breathed on the iron and rubbed it 
again, touching it reverently, and ceased not to polish un¬ 
til it returned a gleam that satisfied his soldier’s eye. 

Whereupon he offered it me, even as in days long past 
a shepherd might confide unto me his choicest ewe, and 
he said, “ Take thou this sword, Yahweh, and bless it for 
me, inasmuch as I am now a Christian.” 

The manner of his request came near to deceiving me, for 
that he showed affection and reverence for this blade, as 
though it had life within it and not death. But being 
about to receive it I bethought me and said: “Nay, this 
cannot be. Hath not the prophet of Galilee taught that 
they who take the sword shall perish by it? ” 

“ Ah, said he so? ” Constantine regarded me intently 
for a moment. “ But what of thee? Dost thou interpret 
this saying to mean that thou and I must renounce the 


THE CONSECRATED SWORD 1 85 

sword? Nay, rather let those renounce it that have used it 
to unworthy ends. 

“ Now if I were to ask thee which quality most becometh 
a god in his dealings with mankind, what wouldst thou 
say? ” 

And I was about to answer, “ The chief attribute of god- 
ship is love.” 

But the emperor checked me with a gesture of his hand, 
saying: “ Nay, do not speak. Rather let me show thee how 
completely I know thy mind. Thou wouldst answer im¬ 
mediately, ‘ Power. * Then wouldst thou proceed to make 
plain how power used in the interest of righteousness is 
the first prerogative and distinctive mark of a god. What 
matter if at sundry times men have led thee to use thy 
supreme power for common ends, such as the conquest of 
petty tribes that opposed thy people, or if through excess 
of zeal thou didst for the moment forget thine attributes 
of mercy and gentleness which, matched to thy courage, 
give thy godship the perfect balance, setting it apart from 
all others? With this weapon thou wilt not be tempted to 
the overhasty use of power.” 

Whereupon he laid the sword upon the table, and drop¬ 
ping his voice to its deepest tone he said: “ We have come 
into a new day. Through my conversion — which, in 
truth, hath not been accomplished without some cost to 
me — the church is close wedded to the empire; this un¬ 
selfish might of which I speak shall be employed only to 
uphold the blessed doctrines of which religion is the natu¬ 
ral sponsor.” 

Whereupon he fell to fondling the sword once more. 
And he shifted his grasp to the blade and held the hilt to¬ 
ward me, saying, “ Look closely upon this sword which I 
have asked thee to bless and tell me what thou seest differ¬ 
ent in the fashion of it — for it is a special instrument.” 


186 


I, YAHWEH 


Now up to this moment mine effort had been not to see 
this instrument which, aided by Constantine’s fair argu¬ 
ments, brought back to me remembrance of my former 
prowess in the field. But when I gazed fully upon it, it 
came to me that the design was of strange fashioning, and 
I cried, ‘‘Why, the hilt hath the form of a cross! ” 

“ Even so,” said Constantine with a smile. “ Dost thou 
find a meaning in its design? Out of deference to thee 
did I have this sword expressly forged to this pattern.” 

I studied it until a light broke upon me. “ Ah! ” said 
I, “ if I mistake not, thine intention is that the one end of it 
shall consecrate the other. The blade is hallowed by the 
hilt.” 

“ It is a holy conception,” said the emperor. “ Take this 
devoted blade in thine hand, then, and bless it.” 

And I reasoned inwardly, “ Were it certain that this 
special sword would never be drawn in an unholy cause— ” 
But to Constantine I still said, “ Nay, the Galilean spake 
plainly against it.” 

Wherefore Constantine labored again with me, saying: 
“ Forget not that in his time the church numbered among 
her people no emperor with the burdens of empire. Or, 
if thou wilt, the empire was not then holy as now it is. 
Furthermore, the fashion of the times changeth from age 
to age. This was revealed to my mind when the priest who 
instructed me in the Christian truths gave me to read for 
my soul’s improvement a book writ by the blessed Clement, 
onetime Bishop of Rome. And mark — I speak now not 
as emperor but as newly persuaded Christian — it was in 
some respects a notable book, expressed in the most con¬ 
cise and admirable style, so that none could miss its logic. 
Yet I quarreled with it. And why did I so? Because, while 
every line had its meaning for the rhetorician, in many 
passages was it without the least authority over the mind 


THE CONSECRATED SWORD 187 

of a practical man of this day. Dost thou follow me, Yah- 
weh? ” 

“ Aye, Constantine, and verily thou art a subtle man. 
Yet can I not touch this sword for all it looks so goodly 
lying there.” 

The emperor said: “ I shall not urge thee, Yahweh. Let 
there be a kingly courtesy between us, whereby neither 
thou nor I shall ask beyond what is expedient for the 
other.” 

Yet as I went from his presence I grieved because I had 
dealt so hardly with this great and courteous man. And I 
bethought me how devoted he was to the right, and looking 
yet again upon the beauty of the sword I turned irresolute 
at the threshold, saying, “ It is perhaps a slight boon. . . .” 

But Constantine was already busy with messengers newly 
arrived from the far ends of his domain. 


Hard by the imperial palace was a little church built in 
the days of Christian poverty but now neglected. Entering 
it I questioned whose prayer had drawn me. And lo, in 
the cold twilight of the moldering room I beheld a preacher 
standing as of old in the pulpit, and a score of men, or so 
it seemed, in the open space before him. He that stood in 
the pulpit was dressed not in a priest’s habit, but in a faded 
garment of a style belonging to other days; and his voice 
came from afar off as he read from that part of Isaiah’s 
prophecy where it saith, “ Nation shall not lift up sword 
against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.” 

He looked up at the end of the reading and I beheld his 
face, and I said, “ It is the face of Tertullianus, who hath 
been dead these many years 1 ” 

Now this Tertullianus was a Carthaginian, born of a 


188 


I, YAHWEH 


pagan family, who came up to Rome in his youth to study 
the Roman law. There he embraced the Christian faith 
and returned him to Carthage and was made presbyter of 
the church. He it was who by the eloquence of his writings 
wrought more, it may be, than any other to keep the Chris¬ 
tians free of entanglement in military affairs. Much did I 
owe to him in those times, but I had not thought again to 
behold him. 

The Scripture finished, Tertullianus, in preparation for 
the sermon, took a text which was also from Isaiah: 

And the work of righteousness shall be 
peace; and the effect of righteousness quiet¬ 
ness and assurance forever. 

And my people shall dwell in a peaceable 
habitation, and in sure dwellings. 

Then did he unfold in his sermon many of those argu¬ 
ments against the sword that he had uttered in his dis¬ 
courses and set down in his books. 

While I hearkened I felt my sympathy go out to him as 
aforetime. But even while he bound me round about by 
his eloquence I heard a voice that called as if from the 
street: “ Are the living then to be forever ruled by the 
dead? ” And the voice was hearty like the voice of Con¬ 
stantine, and not like the preacher’s, which came thin and 
faint notwithstanding its persuasiveness. 

Albeit I had not so intended it, I cried out: “ Ho, Tertul¬ 
lianus! Thy rhetoric is admirable, and thy Latin, but thy 
thoughts are not meet for this new day when the unity of 
empire and church shall give, mayhap, a changed aspect to 
the uses of power.” 

It seemed to me that my voice rent the silence of the 
church, even as had that voice from the street. Yet it 
stayed not the speaker, nor did his congregation turn to 


THE CONSECRATED SWORD 189 

see whence it had come. And he finished his argument and 
those others stood silent awaiting his benediction, yet he 
blessed them not, but the rather looked full upon me say¬ 
ing, “ Beware of him who sits on Caesar’s throne.” 

Then those others turned and looked upon me also. 
And lo, they were the legionaries who had broken their 
swords across their knees at Carthage when I appeared unto 
them in the wardroom of the tower. 

Now although I could not account for their appearance 
there in the church, I took it kindly and would have given 
them thanks for so overcoming all difficulties that they 
might uphold my hand at this moment. But when I was 
about to speak, the voice from the street came again, say¬ 
ing, “ Who are these dead that show so little respect for the 
living god that they must rise from the grave to command 
him? ” 

Again I spake, contrary to my will, saying to Tertul- 
lianus and his onetime legionaries, “ I see ye trust me not, 
nor deem me able to walk with an emperor or strike hands 
with men of large affairs.” For albeit I had been brought 
to see the offense in their conduct, it was my purpose still 
to deal courteously with them. 

Moreover, I still held with Tertullianus in the main; nor 
did Constantine by direct word seek again to shake my 
resolution in the matter of the sword. 


Yet it came to pass, on a day when we consulted upon 
such questions of policy as lay in the spiritual realm, that 
Constantine broke off in his speech and walked to the table 
whereon lay the sword. Again he caressed it with his hand, 
wiping the gleaming blade with a linen scarf of finest tex¬ 
ture. Then, taking his station midway between the table 


I, YAHWEH 


190 

and the place where I stood, he began to whirl the sword 
expertly about his head. He seemed to be one who prac¬ 
ticed exercises, and he made marvelous figures and curves 
in the air with the weapon, keeping rhythmic step forward 
and back on feet that yielded his hands nothing in point of 
nimbleness. His shield-arm and his whole body moved 
in unison with the play of the sword. 

This dexterity and harmony of motion I marked at first 
with reluctance, but soon with growing admiration. As 
for the man himself, he was mighty of frame, his whole 
body full of grace and easy with that skill which comes by 
training. Mine own two attributes, sternness and benig¬ 
nity, sat on his brow. But even as I looked did I feel myself 
condemned that I could take delight in his soldierly ap¬ 
pearance and exercise. For which cause I turned away 
mine eyes. Nonetheless, the light from his whirling blade, 
flickering on wall and ceiling, drew my gaze, and his rhyth¬ 
mic breathing beat upon mine ear. 

Again I looked openly on him. And this time I saw 
more than Constantine. Behold! The Amalekites fled 
across the plain; the Philistines threw them down their 
arms and begged mercy of David; Jephthah swept the field 
clean of the children of Ammon. 

Seeing all of this as in a trance, I wondered how Constan¬ 
tine might appear in battle wielding this consecrated 
sword. Nor could I forget that this kingly man was my 
servant. 

Mine arm was restless. I flexed it to give me ease. In a 
moment I found that it followed every circle and thrust 
that the emperor made. “ There is no evil in it,” I said, 
“ forasmuch as I have no sword in my hand.” Yet was I 
secretly glad to find that though so long disused to battle I 
had not lost my cunning. 

Now while Constantine continued his exercise he moved 


THE CONSECRATED SWORD igi 

steadily, albeit slowly, toward the place where I stood. And 
my right arm and all my members grew vibrant with his 
approach. He held not the sword always by the hilt, but 
sometimes by the very tip of the blade, and sometimes he 
flung it into the air to catch it by blade or hilt, as he desired. 
So close did he draw that I feared lest the sword strike me 
should the emperor miss his grip. 

Then holding the weapon skillfully by the lower part 
of its blade, Constantine swung it in a perfect curve which 
ended at the place where my right arm was outstretched 
— and the hilt fell fairly into the palm of my hand. 

I willed it not, and I scarce understood how it came 
about, but I had the sword firm in my grasp. And I sensed 
that the blade of it and mine arm were one instrument — 
as though my hand were welded to the cross that was its 
hilt. 


XIII 


ONE THRONE FOR THREE 


JlIrom that time forth, forasmuch as I had entered some¬ 
what into the temporal province, Constantine entered 
more freely into the spiritual. And I took it not amiss until 
that day when he said unto me, “ Yahweh, it is made in¬ 
creasingly plain that we must have thee defined/* 

“ Defined, sayest thou? ” I queried, for I knew not what 
this should signify, unless so be that Constantine pro¬ 
posed to set limits to me even as Aaron had done when he 
built me his box of acacia wood. 

Constantine marked my confusion and answered 
quickly, saying: “ Yea. It is now needful that we express 
thy nature to the end that all men may know who and what 
thou art.” 

“Are not mine acts expression enough of my nature? ” 
I inquired; for it was now plain that he proposed to deal 
with somewhat of boldness. “ Do I not daily show myself 
to be all that a god may be? Am I not that which the best 
and wisest of men have urged upon me? Let him that will 
consider what the prophets taught concerning righteous¬ 
ness and say whether or no the sinner feeleth the weight of 

192 






ONE THRONE FOR THREE 193 

my righteous judgments. For I withhold not mine arm 
in defense and extension of whatsoever is good through 
the imperial domain. Also am I a Father to my children 
in that I provide them spiritual sustenance through the holy 
sacraments. Furthermore — albeit I have in some respects 
altered for these times the pattern set by the Galilean — 
nevertheless do I still labor toward a universal kingdom. 
Let man look and read what I am. I like not this defining.” 

But Constantine said: “ Truly, Yahweh, thy manifesta¬ 
tions do fully and at all times explain thee, even as thou 
hast said. But this definition whereof I speak must be not 
of deeds but of words, for there is need that thy nature 
be set forth in small compass for convenient use in teaching 
and in theological argument.” 

“ Nay, I like it not that my nature be limited even by 
words,” I objected. “ Know that there are areas of being 
that no rhetoric can encompass.” 

“ True again,” Constantine acknowledged. “ Any at¬ 
tempt to compress into a verbal formula the fullness of thy 
divinity would be vain. Yet a truly philosophical state¬ 
ment, not wholly expressive of thy perfection but tracing 
as closely as it may the luminous shadow cast by thy person, 
is imperatively needed.” 

Still I liked it not, and with intent less to be answered 
than to dissuade him from his purpose I inquired further 
into this imperative necessity. 

Whereupon he set about to answer me fully, saying: 
“ That men may conform one to another in their belief 
concerning thee. For as thou thyself hast observed, the 
church is torn by divisive counsels on this matter and on 
that, and though perchance thou knowest it not, these 
wranglings of men threaten to extend even to the question 
of thy godhead. Now these many generations have we 
had the baptismal formula which loosely conjoins thee, the 


194 I, YAHWEH 

Christ of Galilee and the Holy Spirit. But its language 
doth leave men uncertain in respect of the metaphysical 
relationship between thee and the Galilean. Yea, there 
are some who openly call him divine as though they would 
put him on an equality with thyself.” 

But I said unto him: “ Nay, Constantine, no jealousy do 
I feel when men pay divine honors to the Galilean. More¬ 
over, now that I have resumed the sword it is mayhap 
necessary that he supply certain aspects of a softer divinity.” 

“ Now thou dost approach the crux of the matter,” said 
Constantine. “ Men in large number are there who deny 
his divine nature, while others hold that, being divine, he 
had no true humanity. It is chiefly in respect of him that 
the quarreling ariseth.” 

Whereupon I did for the first time lose patience with 
Constantine and answer him shortly, saying: “ As to the 
Galilean, it matters not to me what men say or think. No 
human bickerings can make difficulty between us.” 

Likewise Constantine lost patience, and he made an¬ 
swer: “ This pleasant accord may suffice for thee, but for 
me it is not sufficient. I look not with approval on these 
divisions in the minds of theologians nor on the consequent 
dissensions among the common folk. Thou knowest me 
for a man of precision and order. Thou art aware of the 
uniformity I have effected in the appointments of my 
legions. What is customary in one part of the empire pre¬ 
vailed! in all others, thus assuring easy exchange of officers 
and of all military equipment. Thou art acquainted also 
with my unified policy of civil administration. A man may 
lay down one task in Byzantium and take up another in 
Spain unhampered by differences in rules and methods. I 
work to make the empire truly one. So must it be with the 
church. There must be no weakening diversity. Where¬ 
fore I urge — not, of a surety, without proper respect — 


ONE THRONE FOR THREE 195 

the summoning of a council to define the godhead once and 
for all time.” 

“ Why saidst thou not so in the beginning? ” I remon¬ 
strated. “ If this be an imperial interest I make no question 
of it.” 

“ Not only imperial is it, but also ecclesiastical,” Con¬ 
stantine asserted. “ The good bishops would have the 
question settled.” 

The calling of a general council being so arranged, I 
asked of the emperor how the desired formula would be 
arrived at. 

He told me confidently, “ By vote of the bishops.” 

Now I thought it strange that the nature of divinity 
should be discovered by the consensus of fallible opinion, 
but spake not thereof to Constantine, asking only, “ What 
if the members be evenly divided? ” 

Whereto he replied: “ They shall be of an odd number. 
And they shall not lack imperial advice.” 

Nonetheless it required not one council but several to 
formulate such a definition as the bishops judged expedi¬ 
ent to the needs of the church. For, even as I had foreseen, 
men who but little understood their own finite nature 
found it not easy to set a hedge of words about me whom 
they called infinite. 

The first council convened in Nicaea, and the emperor 
elected to preside in person. This was well, for the bishops 
wrangled long over the letters of a single word, and only 
through pressure of authority did they at length attain 
agreement in any one thing. 

When the council was finished they said unto me: “ Yah- 
weh, thou and the Galilean are one by virtue of a word that 
we have found, which word expresseth oneness of sub¬ 
stance. Thou art in no sense the loser thereby, though 
thou art called upon to share thy godhead, for our human- 


196 I, YAHWEH 

ity which the Galilean bore doth bridge over the chasm 
that lieth between thy hitherto remote divinity and our¬ 
selves.” 


But Constantine died without seeing the end of that 
which he began when he did first call the bishops together 
to define me. For it was not until the council in Chalcedon, 
above a century after Nicaea, that the theologians were able 
truly to say: “ We have completed our definition of thee. 
The formal description of thy being is setded for all time. 
Thou, Yahweh, being one, art also three.” 

“ How am I three? ” I asked. “ By division or by addi¬ 
tion? ” 

“ By neither adding nor dividing, but by our recognition 
of certain distinctions eternally present in thy godhead. 
For we have established that, though thou art one, it is in 
the triple sense of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” 

Now my thoughts went out in sympathy to these men 
who had thus wrestled courageously with that primal mys¬ 
tery of being which had troubled me also, even from the 
days of Abraham. Wherefore I had respect for them. But 
there was mine own being to consider and there were my 
prerogatives to protect. Wherefore I said: “ I like it not, 
nor will I permit this dealing with my person. Call it 
what ye will, it plainly bespeaks either division or addi¬ 
tion. Your mathematics likes me not. Have ye wholly 
forgotten what my first people, the Hebrews, said continu¬ 
ally in admonition one to another — ‘ Hear ye, Israel; the 
Lord thy God is one ? ” 

“ Nay, but thou dost not understand,” they insisted. 
“ Hebraically speaking, thou art still one. It is only in the 
language of Christian theology that thou art to become 
three. For this theology must needs partake of the quali- 


ONE THRONE FOR THREE 197 

ties of the Greco-Latin thought with which thou art now 
identified. And mark the advantage of this our double 
definition. The bold assertion of diversity in unity and 
unity in diversity covereth the thought of every reasonable 
man, and thereby bringeth the Christian world to conform¬ 
ity of speech. 

“ Moreover, this same formula which composeth our 
verbal differences will also by reason of its contradictory 
mathematics serve to deepen the mystery that surroundeth 
thee, and thereby aid in satisfaction of one of the ineradi¬ 
cable hungers of the human soul.” 

And, though I marveled at the shapes which the hungers 
of men take on, I did profess myself content with this tri¬ 
angulation of my divinity. 

Now certain chiefs of the clergy came into my presence 
and they said, “ We desire the judgment of our triune God 
on a matter, and therefore ask that thou set up a throne 
from which the collective will of deity may speak.” Where¬ 
fore did I establish a wide throne on the circle of the heav¬ 
ens, and bade the priests that they have my colleagues in 
the godhead appear there at a given hour, the which I 
named. 

When the hour drew nigh I approached the seat, feel¬ 
ing a measure of resentment against them that had divided 
mine authority. Nonetheless, I was cheered at the pros¬ 
pect of seeing the Galilean again. 

Being before the throne, I heard a peal of thunder that 
rolled from end to end of heaven, and I beheld one coming 
toward me whose visage was stern and awesome. His eyes 
were as coals of fire, his mouth inflexible, and his hand 
gripped a two-edged sword. He had for a breastplate the 
two tables of the law; red was his garment as though he had 
long trodden the winepress, and judgment sat upon his 
brow. 


I, YAHWEH 


198 

When I asked of this being who he was, he made answer: 
“ I am of the godhead; very God, in truth; coeval with thy¬ 
self — aye, thyself under the eternal aspect of Son, whose 
perfection judgeth the frail children of men.” 

These words rolled upon me a weight heavy to be borne. 
“ My son, thou sayest! Ah well, if it be so determined it 
must be so received. But thou art greatly changed since I 
saw thee in Galilee. Where are the grace and tenderness 
that were thine? I thought not to find thee so much the 
thunderer as thou dost appear.” 

He showed impatience and distaste as he answered: 
“ What is this thou speakest of a Galilee? I am of the em¬ 
pire.” 

I recovered my calm and said: “ Then thou art not he 
for whom I took thee at the first. Whence, then, dost thou 
derive? From the empire, thou hast said; but by what 
process? ” 

“ By a process of theology,” he returned. “ For, though 
I am assured of an eternal element within me by which I 
am one with thee, mine outward nature is called the crown¬ 
ing achievement of the theologian.” 

“ It matters not who thou art, or how thou hast come by 
thy forbidding exterior, so be thou dost not rob me of my 
Galilean memories,” said I. 

“ Mete me not by thy Jewish standards,” he charged me. 
And I thought that an unease of spirit lay beneath his out¬ 
ward show of majesty. 

Then of a sudden was I stirred to pity for this grim fiction 
whom I was called upon to make my familiar; but ere I 
could speak kindly to him, as I purposed to do, there came 
toward us one who moved swifter than an eagle above the 
clouds. When he alighted I saw with amazement that he 
showed no countenance, for face and form and garments 
made one unbroken pillar of burning light, beautiful and 
majestic beyond comparison with all things fair and awe- 


ONE THRONE FOR THREE 


199 

some that ever I had seen. His outward appearance 
seemed to testify to a boundless and eager energy en¬ 
wrapped in the impenetrable mystery of his flaming pres¬ 
ence. 

When he that had announced himself the Son beheld 
me overcome with speechless fascination and wonder by the 
glory of the radiant newcomer, he whispered: “ Betray us 
not by such show of astonishment on thy countenance. 
This stranger, I take it, is ourself under the theological 
aspect of Creative Spirit. He doth but complete our god¬ 
head.” 

To cover my confusion I said hastily, “ Then let us be 
seated on the throne, for we are asked to hand down an 
agreeable judgment on a vexing matter that will shortly 
be laid before us.” 

“ Aye,” said the Son, who was minded to take full charge. 
“ And since in what seems to be thy separate person thou 
dost manifest our collective attribute of Fatherhood, thine 
shall be the first seat.” 

Accordingly I moved toward what was the right hand 
side of the throne as we faced it and was prepared to seat 
myself, when he stayed me. 

“ How dost thou number? ” he asked me. 

“ After the Hebrew manner, beginning at the right and 
proceeding toward the left, as is meet,” I answered. 

“ Nay, it is not meet, nor even to be thought of,” he 
protested. “ We are under the aegis of the imperial 
mother and must therefore number after the imperial 
fashion, from left to right.” 

I was not minded to argue the matter and turned forth¬ 
with to the left end of the throne. But again he hindered 
me. “ Stay! Neither is it seemly that we seat ourself in 
this order. It is plainly written in the creed that I do al¬ 
ways sit at the right hand of ourself as Father, and if thou 
dost take the place at the extreme left there will be nought 


200 


I, YAHWEH 


but empty space at thy right. Where, then, shall we sit in 
my person as Son? ” 

I said: “ Ah! The central seat, then, shall be mine indi¬ 
vidual place. Sit thou to the right of me; and this other 
shall complete our trinity on my left.” 

“ Let us not be so hasty,” cautioned the Son. “ These 
weighty matters are not disposed of so readily. It is writ¬ 
ten in the creed, let us remlmber, that the Creative Spirit, 
being our very self under another guise, doth proceed from 
us both; wherefore it doth clearly appear that his must be 
the middle seat.” 

Here, now, was a difficulty which we could not over¬ 
come, seek as we would to surmount or resolve it. The 
matter was therefore taken in hand by the theologians. 

Now after these had wrestled with the problem for a 
long time, it became plain that they had not the wit to deal 
with it. But there was a youth serving as clerk to one of 
the bishops, and he said: “ Why do you vex yourselves 
with so simple a matter, my masters? Let there be a round 
throne made, facing outward; and let the godhead sit 
shoulder to shoulder with itself, or themselves, as ye like, 
on the circumference. Then shall arise no question of end 
or middle, first, second or last. For each shall be right and 
left of those others that do both complete him and make of 
the three one — of whose perfect unity, accord and equal¬ 
ity the circular continuity of the line in which they sit shall 
afford a most apt symbol.” 

The theologians and bishops, although reluctant to defer 
to this lad, could not but admit that his plan was sound. 
The throne was rebuilt after his design. 

But when we were again about to be seated the Son 
raised yet another difficulty. “ Stop! ” he cried. “ It is, 
after all, a thought not to be entertained even for a mo¬ 
ment’s space that we should have aught to do with this 


ONE THRONE FOR THREE 


501 


round throne. For when in my person as judge we shall 
arise and stand upon the step here to address ourself in 
judgment, we shall of necessity be found facing away from 
ourself, which, however little it be so intended, will be a 
sore discourtesy to us.” 

And we saw that it could not be. 

On this account we returned to counsel again with the 
clergy. But before the matter of our seating could be 
broached, I lost all patience and asked: “ Is this point 
upon which ye desire us to pass judgment a question eccle¬ 
siastical or imperial? Is it, perchance, a matter of some 
moment? ” 

And they assured us, “ It is purely ecclesiastical and theo¬ 
logical; which fact of itself lends it character of greatest 
moment.” 

“ Look ye to it,” I said shortly. 

Their faces brightened. “ Ah! Then ye leave such 
matters wholly to our judgment? We speak the final 
word? ” 

“ Hath it not ever been so? ” I put bitterness into my 
tone, but the irony of my question escaped them. 

Then did I face the complexity that was myself, and I 
said: “ Ye see? There is no point of moral import in¬ 
volved here. Our arbitrament is not required; nor, I sup¬ 
pose, will it be while the world stands. Therefore pursue 
ye, each one, your separate course until the end of time; 
and I shall find joy in doing likewise. We shall meet again 
at the judgment day, in whose light perchance it may more 
clearly appear where and how we sit.” 

On this word we parted. And I beheld with admiration 
and astonishment how he that was called Creative Spirit 
made off on his wings of cold white fire at a speed which 
mine eye could scarce follow. 


XIV 


HERITAGE OF EMPIRE 


How it chanced that Leo, justly called the Great, al¬ 
beit this title “ great ” hath been loosely handled as a meas¬ 
ure of human worth, was Bishop of Rome in those evil days 
at no far remove from the reign of Constantine, when the 
city of the Caesars was sacked by barbarous tribes. 

From the quiet of his episcopal dwelling he looked on 
the corruption that had weakened the borders of the em¬ 
pire, and he girded himself to effect deliverance. Yet first 
did he call upon me. For this heroic bishop ever kept hum¬ 
ble communion with his god and did nothing without first 
submitting his plans to my judgment. His counsels pleased 
me well, inasmuch as the stout heart which quailed not 
before patrician or plebeian, senator or priest, and made no 
difference between pagan and Christian, expected also a 
resolute courage in his god. 

“ Yahweh,” said he briefly, “ the empire of the Caesars 
is no more.” 

I looked with him across the housetops from his terrace 
on the Pincian hill, and I said: “Nay, the eternal city still 
stands. Behold the Capitoline hill, imperishable in its 
strength.” 


202 






HERITAGE OF EMPIRE 203 

“ Yea,” answered Leo, “ the stones are there, but what 
do they shelter? A people shorn of power, an effigy of the 
emperor who from the safety of Constantinople sendeth 
out edicts to a world that has little mind to obey.” 

And he swept the city with a wide gesture, saying: “ Fear 
is master in the fallen house of arrogant might, and dread 
crouches at every street comer. Soldiers whose officers 
have lost the habit of command form themselves into bands 
of thieves; judges, reduced to poverty, sell their justice for 
gain; Christians return to their pagan ways, or shut them¬ 
selves from the world in remote contemplation of its evils; 
priests, no longer able to believe in a just providence, do 
but mumble their holy offices; women hoard their virtue 
within darkened houses, or hurry through the streets guard¬ 
ing themselves warily.” 

Now Leo had never been known for a preacher after the 
manner of Ecclesiastes, nor did he make it his custom to 
ask me to hearken to wailings as was the practice of the 
ancient Pharisees. Wherefore I held my peace, marveling 
to what action this speech of his might tend. 

Then Leo turned to his table and took up a parchment 
that, lying open, testified to his recent employment; and 
he said, “ This is a book writ by Augustine, Bishop of 
Hippo, lately deceased, a treatise apt to these times, yea, and 
to all time to come.” 

And when I asked him its name, he answered, saying, 
“ It is titled, The City of God.” 

Whereupon I bade him tell me the substance of the book 
in brief. For it now appeared that he had, after all, but 
called me to uphold him in an hour when his spirits flagged. 

And Leo began to pace the floor, saying: “ Herein does 
Augustine record the decay of human society under the 
misrule of the old pagan gods, and he demonstrates these 
same gods to be wholly reprobate in their works and char- 


204 I, YAHWEH 

acters. Next he touches on the woeful state into which 
their deceptions have brought the world. And this he does 
with great exactness. But all else is as nothing compared 
with those consolations which derive from the second part 
of his work, wherein he causeth all history to testify to the 
glorious purpose which thou hast for the world, namely, 
the eternal kingdom of the spirit. This he foreshadows 
under the similitude of the City of God, which city, he says, 
must arise from the ashes of those fires that even now con¬ 
sume the terrestrial order.’* 

Thereafter he paused, and then said, “ It is for this rea¬ 
son that I have called thee, O Lord, to look with me upon 
the decay of imperial Rome.” 

Knowing that Leo was not of those who like their 
thought spoken for them, I said only: “ Let us grant that 
the empire’s days are numbered. What followeth insofar 
as we twain are concerned? ” 

“ Why, it follows,” he made answer, “ that in default of 
a competent Caesar we two must rule the empire.” 

And Leo took from a cabinet his episcopal miter and 
set it on his head and took his crosier in his hand. “ Inas¬ 
much as Innocent of blessed memory, lately bishop of this 
city, did declare and incontestably prove that the See of 
Rome inherits the primacy among all bishoprics from St. 
Peter, whom the Lord Jesus Christ chose to be the rock on 
which he founded his church, in this tradition shall I claim 
for mine office its prerogatives. In the interest of estab¬ 
lishing a competent rule, maintaining order, salvaging jus¬ 
tice and keeping the peace, I shall assert and make good the 
authority of my bishopric. Rome, long the head of a dying 
empire, shall be the head now of a living church. Thou 
being my helper, I shall bring life out of death. This I 
shall do, not through love of power, but solely in further¬ 
ance of thy divine purpose as interpreted by Augustine. 


HERITAGE OF EMPIRE 


205 

Inasmuch as I look to gain nothing but a weight of care, I 
trust thou wilt help me to support it as my most Christian 
burden. 

“ But how my heart rejoices, O Lord, as it considers 
the prospect before us — all peoples of earth dwelling 
peaceably under the beneficent rule of thy will uttered in 
authority and constraining love from this new Jerusalem. 
Whole nations seeking the truth and being obedient to 
those principles whose pronouncement shall be the joyful 
duty of the church! ” 

Throughout this homily my thoughts kept pace with 
his and found the journey pleasant; but suddenly they 
leapt far ahead. My hand went to my side to make certain 
that the sword still hung there. For Leo had spoken of the 
nations living peaceably, and had even hinted that they 
might willingly abate their differences. 

“ Stop! ” I cried. “ If I join with thee, wilt thou ask me 
to yield up my sword and stand defenseless save for moral 
power? Think well how thou shalt maintain thy holy 
rule.” 

Leo fell silent; and I could see that he was sorrowful that 
even while he dreamed of the city as he had read of it in the 
book I should thus bring before him the plain considera¬ 
tion of its maintenance. 

And he answered me vaguely, for of a truth he had drawn 
but little on this head out of Augustine. And he said: 
“Nay, I had not thought to ask thee to lay down thy 
sword, albeit thine own morality may so require after the 
theocracy is firmly established. Circumstances have forced 
the sword into thy hand and there must it remain as long 
as these circumstances continue unchanged. Nonetheless, 
while the civil power is being more and more divided, we 
might move us gradually toward a new policy. By this I 
mean that, whereas until now the sword has dominated the 


206 I, YAHWEH 

cross, in time to come the cross must rule the sword, thus 
supplanting worldly policy in ecclesiastical and, as far as 
possible, in secular affairs.” 

But when I said, “ I am minded how Constantine spake 
in like vein, pleading for the protection of the right,” Leo 
made answer with some severity, saying: “ The proper em¬ 
ployment of the sword dependeth not so much on the de¬ 
clared purpose as on the character of him who grips the 
hilt. Our ecclesiastical rule will in no wise resemble that 
of the empire.” 

And I replied: “ Thine answer is after mine own 
thought, Leo. Full often have I regretted that I placed 
mine arm so freely at the disposal of the empire and gave 
unto Christians the right to serve the military ends of the 
state. But even the Galilean would not object should his 
people take martial service under ecclesiastical command 
— or at least I trust not.” 


INTERLUDE 


A LONG SLEEP 


In the course of years the See of Rome journeyed far 
toward establishing authority over the nations that arose 
in the territory of the old empire, and beyond it in those 
regions whence the barbarous tribes had come. It learned 
how to set king against king, and how to make rulers and 
warriors plunge into fierce rivalry in the hope of gaining 
the church’s favor, and how to set them to trembling in 
fear of coming under its condemnation. In time did the 
church discover that it could obtain a higher price for its 
favor than that which any ruler could be forced to pay by 
threats of coercion. Wherefore it set a price on all its min¬ 
istrations, both secular and spiritual. 

Not seldom did the cross and the sword make common 
warfare against uncivilized tribes and half-civilized peoples 
struggling for nationhood. To the vanquished was ten¬ 
dered the cross-like hilt on which to swear fealty to the 
Christ of the trinity and to his vicar on earth. Where¬ 
upon their sins were washed away by the sacramental waters 
of baptism and they were gathered into the fold. 

In those lusty days I was always in the forefront of the 
battle, and after the combat I lingered close by the river- 

207 






I, YAHWEH 


208 

side to welcome the conquered when they came up from 
the cleansing waters. Thus did I taste the double satis¬ 
faction of victory itself and the redemption of the nations 
thereby from their pagan ways. But the sense of victory 
became familiar, and the triumphal chants of my priests 
when new peoples were brought under my rule could no 
more rouse mine answering exultation. 

Long ago it was written of me, “ He that keepeth Israel 
shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Yet the time came when 
I slept. Worn by fighting, weary of blood and intrigue, 
sickened by a plague of conscience, I sank into a fitful 
slumber that held me for many generations, save that now 
and again I was roused to lend my voice to some mean con¬ 
tention between bishops and kings, or to take part in strife 
when partisans clamored for the succor of mine arm. 

In this restless sleep I dreamed. Vividly I saw Amos in 
the market place and the courts of old Bethel rebuke the 
mighty in the name of justice, and I waked to scheme with 
men who battened on injustice more than they of ancient 
time. I lingered again in the desert places beyond Jordan, 
looking on the strong, calm face of the Nazarene prophet 
while he talked of his kingdom of peace, and I opened 
mine eyes to find the blood of yesterday on my tarnished 
blade. I saw my heroic people who were fed to the lions 
and burned as torches in the arena, and waked to wonder 
what they had died for. I beheld the radiance of the primi¬ 
tive church which saw in man a potential likeness to Christ, 
and was roused from this vision by the voices of priests 
and theologians who keyed their doctrines to the melan¬ 
choly note of human corruption, and who conceived re¬ 
ligion not as a transforming influence upon the hearts of 
men but as a device by whose use they might escape the 
terrors of hell. The blight that I had seen among the 


A LONG SLEEP 209 

hermits in Egypt had spread over Christendom and fixed 
the quality of its life. 

I slept and dreamed. Yet ever in my broken slumbers 
there came to mine ears the pleadings of a remnant who 
had not cast away faith and honor — a priest in an obscure 
pulpit, and anon a monk in some abbey far withdrawn from 
the world. But their integrity shamed me, and I closed 
mine ear against them, seeking once more the half-forget¬ 
fulness of slumber. 

In this wretched manner I drowsed and was mocked of 
my dreams, waked and was tortured by realities, through¬ 
out that period which men have named the Dark Age; un¬ 
til at last I could sleep no more for fullness of misery and, 
waking, must bear my burden in a midnight world. 

Then, when darkness had so long bound me that it 
seemed my native element, I saw a light break over Umbria 
in central Italy. Out of the light came laughter and song, 
and above these arose a prayer, artless as the prattling of a 
child, yet reverent and full of age-old wisdom. 


XV 


AWAKENING 

G n the side of a pleasant hill looking on a broad, fair 
valley in Umbria I found a young man seated by a fire. 

Two doves perched on his shoulder, and a wolf of the 
forest fawned on him and licked his hand. And I heard 
that he spake in all seriousness to them, calling the doves 
his sisters and the wolf his brother. At which I felt quick 
disappointment, thinking him one of nature’s innocents. 

He saw me and said, “ Welcome, brother, to the comfort 
of my little fire and to your share of the bread and water 
before me.” 

Beholding the majesty of his face, I was perplexed by 
the contradiction between his aspect and his manner with 
the birds and the beast. Yet was I content to be with him, 
and I said, “ What is thy name, O man whose presence 
bringeth peace to my heart? ” 

He smiled upon me, and, used as I was to grim or serious 
faces, I found his smile pleasant, for it was not as the smile 
of Jew or Greek; and he said: “ My name is Francis, and 
I am of Assisi. How are you called, and whence do you 
come? Your garments and the cast of your features and 
the make of that sword at your side bespeak the stranger.” 


210 






AWAKENING 


211 


“ I am called Yahweh, and I come from beyond the sea.” 

Nodding his head, he busied himself about setting the 
crock of water before me, with bread and fresh figs. Then 
he inquired why I had been so sad of countenance when 
first he saw me. 

And I answered him, saying, “Nay, rather tell me why 
there is such uncommon gladness in thee.” 

Francis did but bend over the fire and blow the coals, 
singing between the puffs of his breath: 

Blaze, brother Fire, blaze and burn. 

Let thy pure flames leap and dance to the glory 
of the Father God, 

Who giveth thy heat to cheer the souls of men 
And thy light to gladden their eyes. 

I thank the loving Father for the gift of thee. 

Dear brother Fire. 

Saddened beyond telling to see one so lovable in the 
grip of what I esteemed to be a madness, I would have 
turned away. But at that moment the flames leapt and 
Francis smiled over his shoulder and said, “ I am happy 
because I have found so many that are my brothers.” 

Whereupon I said inwardly: “ Softly now, Yahweh, for 
an appearance of aberration hath not been foreign to the 
prophetic spirit. Did not the great Ezekiel make himself 
as a child, playing in the sand outside the walls of Jerusalem, 
casting up mounds of earth against a pan of iron to testify 
to the people of the siege which their city must endure 
for its sins? Did he not lie first on his left side and then on 
his right for many days to betoken the length of their 
period of punishment? Did he not make barley cakes and 
bake them with dung to bear witness to the defilement 
which Jerusalem would suffer? Mayhap when Francis 


212 


I, YAHWEH 


calleth the fire his brother, he doth thereby signify the 
brotherhood of man and, consequently, the kingdom.” 

Wherefore, giving him plain words for obscure, I said, 
“ How wilt thou go about thy building of the kingdom of 
brother men? ” 

Francis brake the loaf in two and gave me the larger 
part. “ I? Say not I, brother Yahweh, but we. The Father, 
and you, and I, and all who love him will build the king¬ 
dom on a foundation of Christian poverty.” 

Now I was wroth with Francis that he should deal thus 
with me when I had dealt plainly with him, and I answered 
him in bitterness, saying, “ Then thou wilt find matter 
in plenty to give it a wide foundation, for there is no end 
of poverty among men.” 

Francis held the soft crumb of his bread to the doves and 
himself ate a piece of the crust. “ Be patient, brother Yah¬ 
weh, and understand me,” he pleaded. “ For Christ’s sweet 
sake I gladly divest myself of all possessions. But by the 
poverty which I prescribe for others I do not mean the 
want of those needful goods which, said our Lord, the Fa¬ 
ther will provide for his children. Nay, rather I mean 
a renunciation of worldly desire by which a man, separating 
himself from too great love of things, will be free to enjoy 
fellowships of the spirit.” 

Feeling now at ease as to the soundness of his mind, and 
believing that, inasmuch as his intention was like the Gali¬ 
lean’s, he had at all points returned to the earlier teach¬ 
ing, I made haste to sound him on the question of original 
sin, saying, “ What then of the corruption inherited from 
Adam? ” 

But even as I settled myself by the fire, expecting from 
the lips of Francis some comfortable refutation, I marked 
how a tremor passed through his frame and how the joy 
departed wholly from his countenance. He fetched a sigh 


AWAKENING 


213 

that so rent his breast as to make the groans of the ascetics 
of Egypt seem in remembrance like the querulous plaints 
of the aged, nay, like the work of stage players. And he 
drew back his garment from his shoulders and uncovered 
cruel welts on the flesh. “ It is as you say. See how I 
have scourged brother Ass, my sinful body, for the treachery 
that he practices against his little sister, the Soul.” 

Silence fell upon us. We were sunk to depths of dis¬ 
tress out of which there was no rising. From afar came 
the voice of a child, but Francis marked it not, nor looked 
when a little maid came running, albeit she called upon 
him as she ran. And she saw us close together as if in 
conversation and ceased to call but went quietly to sit on 
a rock, where she fell to playing with the doves that made 
no stranger of her. 

Whereupon Francis did again give me matter for amaze¬ 
ment. Like to an arrow shot from the bow he came erect. 
As quickly as it had left him did his joy return. Forgotten 
were his terrors; gaiety possessed him. As one listening to 
music, his eye followed every movement of the child whose 
presence had dispelled his gloom. Finger to lip he turned 
to me and then turned back. 

She had risen from her rock. She stood now with her 
weight resting on her left foot, and the toe of the right 
lightly touching the ground. The left side of her slender 
form was toward us and the bright sky was behind her. 
A dove perched on her wrist. Her brown face lay in 
caress against the blue-gray feathers. 

Francis said softly: “ Look, brother Yahweh, how her 
face glows, not with the rays of the sun, but with the inner 
light of a pure spirit. See the pink balls of her toes, like 
dawn coming over the hill. Behold the tracings of the 
veins against the white of her throat. Is it not as though 
the rain-washed sky ran in rivulets through her flesh? Mark 


214 I, YAHWEH 

the innocent clarity of her eye and the red stain of health 
on her lips. Is not her body a faultless temple for the 
Spirit of God? ” 

And I said in return, “Tell me, Francis, is it usual for 
a creature of earth to be clothed in a beauty so pure, so 
spiritual, so heavenly? ” 

And he said: “ The children of men are commonly born 
to this inheritance. All the works of our Father God are 
informed with his spirit.” 

Now I was moved to show Francis how the logic of his 
present mood ran counter to his theological conviction of 
man’s despicable estate, but lest mine argument fail its 
purpose and serve only to restore his gloom I refrained 
from it. 

And the little maid looked up from her play with the 
doves. 

“ Why, brother Francis,” she cried, “ how beautiful you 
are this morning. You are like a painting that once I saw 
over the altar of a church, wherein was pictured the arch¬ 
angel Michael worshiping the Madonna enthroned. Your 
countenance wears the look of Michael’s. Do you see a 
vision? ” And she glanced over her shoulder to the open 
sky above the hill. 

“ No, little sister Joanna, it is the glory of the Father God 
that I see reflected from the noblest work of his hand,” 
answered Francis gently. 

Then on the instant he made a song: 

Let us praise our Father, 

Brother Sun and sister Moon, and all the stars that play 
in the fields of heaven. 

Let us praise him. 

Brethren in ocean, and lake, and free running stream, 
Sisters in the meadows and woods. 


AWAKENING 21 $ 

Wolves on the mountain and sheep in the valley pastures, 

Praise him 

For the beauty with which he clothes all things. 

Especially our brother the body. 

From that time forward I was much with Francis, and 
I aided him as I could in the forming of his society of 
Little Brothers. Yet again and again I was amazed by 
the contradictions in his spirit. 

On one day he poured into mine ear many tales con¬ 
cerning them that he had known or heard of who had been 
afflicted by devils of sickness or madness or sinful lust. 
As he talked, his swift imagination peopled the whole 
countryside with unfriendly demons who sought men’s 
destruction in body and soul. 

And on another day occurred that which gave the lie 
to his fears. We took one time our course toward the town, 
and just short of it discovered a cluster of mean dwellings 
before which stood a man ringing a handbell. The man 
was a leper, I saw, white as snow. And Francis moved to¬ 
ward him with gladness of greeting in his face. 

“ Stop, Francis, stop,” I cried, thinking he knew not the 
danger into which he ran. And the man rang on his bell 
a yet sharper warning. 

“ Save yourself the ceremony of the bell, brother An¬ 
tonio,” commanded Francis. “ You know there is no 
need of giving me warning.” 

The leper, still ringing, answered, “ It is not for you, 
brother Francis, but for the stranger who comes after you, 
and to satisfy the authorities who command me to ring 
when one approaches the lazaretto.” 

“ Brother Yahweh fears not your devil of leprosy,” Fran¬ 
cis told him. “ He trusts in the keeping power of the 
Father God as do I.” 


2 l 6 I, YAHWEH 

“Nay, nay, not for myself,” said I hastily, “ but much 
do I fear it for thee, Francis. Stop ere thou touch him. 
Thou canst not know the nature of this dread disease as do 
I who have seen it in Palestine, whence doubtless it was 
brought by some traveler or crusader. Deadly and loath¬ 
some it is beyond all afflictions of the flesh.” 

But Francis put his arm about the leper and, lifting the 
man’s bloodless hand, pressed his mouth full against it. 
And he laughed in joyous heedlessness, saying, “ He who 
has the love of the Father in his heart need fear no evil.” 

Now there was no man less willful than Francis. He 
took upon himself a vow of obedience and bowed to the 
least preference of ecclesiastical authority. He would not 
so much as preach within the bounds of the smallest parish 
without the consent of its priest, and in situations of mo¬ 
ment let himself be ruled by those having not an hundredth 
part of his consecration. Yet were there occasions when he 
followed his inner leadings as though he recognized no 
authority save a divine compulsion within him. 

While he lived and for long afterward I failed to under¬ 
stand him, but now I see that the contradictions in him 
came by reason of his being born between two ages. His 
roots were in a dying age, which tortured him by its fears 
and superstitions; yet the leaves and branches of his nature 
reached up into the light of the age that was dawning. 

The people of his time and place little heeded his dark 
beliefs, which were also their own. That which they 
marked in him was rather his escape from the darkness of 
these beliefs — his joy and courage and his delight in the 
beauty of all natural things. By reason of him the secular 
mind, if not the mind of the church, glanced out through 
the windows of its gloomy house and saw that the sky was 
blue and the earth fair to look upon. 

Now, respecting the church, there came a day when 


AWAKENING 


517 

Francis took me aside and said: “ Brother Yahweh, you 
have been long with me and my society of Little Brothers. 
You came to this place with a sad and dark spirit, and we 
have shared with you the joyousness of our love for one 
another and our hope for unity with the Father. 

“ Now we ask you to join yourself to us, that we may all 
together by our simplicity of life rebuke the evils of the 
church. We shall preach not from pulpits but in the fields 
and on the open way, and the plain truths of Christ faith¬ 
fully spoken and witnessed to by lovingkindness shall build 
the kingdom of God whereof you spake when first you came 
among us. 

“ Let the Father absolve you from pride and avarice. 
Cast away your sword and be wholly one with us, brother 
Yahweh, seeking not temporal gain but everlasting beati¬ 
tude.” 

This invitation gave me pause, but I had other interests 
to consider. Francis prescribed poverty, but could I de¬ 
mand of my priests that they forswear their rich proper¬ 
ties and leave themselves naked to charity? Lacking their 
goods they would be lost indeed and deficient in authority. 
Moreover, though I was drawn by the beauty of simplicity, 
yet did I not scorn to enjoy also the color and magnificence 
that adorn a rich church. And albeit I felt that Francis 
touched the ideal when he proposed to rebuke the iniq¬ 
uity in the church by the same plain doctrine that had 
won the laity, yet when it came to the point I lacked courage 
for so arduous an undertaking as ecclesiastical reform. The 
years had begun to take their toll of me. My troubled 
sleep had stiffened, not refreshed me; and as I meditated 
I recoiled the more from the discomfort that change would 
entail. 

Nor was I persuaded fully that abrupt change was to be 
desired. I saw the need that life move evenly, slowly. 


I, YAHWEH 


2l8 

Knowing how laggard and weak is man, I had accustomed 
myself to strike a rough balance between good and evil. 
Let a man but perform the duties prescribed by Holy 
Church, I thought, taking care to avoid violent offenses; 
then may the semblance of righteousness encourage the sub¬ 
stance thereof. So may the world improve at its own meas¬ 
ured pace. 

Besides, my people had perfected their own means of 
dealing with certain aspects of life which troubled them. 
Bones reputed to be relics of the saints, teardrops of the 
Virgin, splinters of the true cross, shreds of holy garments 
and sacred images worn about the neck, they held to be 
protection against varied forms of bodily and spiritual 
danger. And I thought it perhaps more expedient to let 
them take comfort of these beliefs than to set the weak and 
ignorant to straining unduly after courage. 

Wherefore I questioned whether it were well for the 
whole church to enter into the faith of the Little Brothers, 
or for the Little Brothers themselves to disturb the world 
by censorious preaching. 

Now Francis abode in patience while I meditated. And 
there was a brightness on his face. But when in the line of 
my thoughts I questioned him, saying: “ What of the pope 
and the bishops? Do they incline your way? ” it was as if 
a cloud momentarily obscured this brightness. 

Nevertheless he made answer: “We know not surely, 
brother Yahweh. We think they wish us well, yet at times 
it is as though they put obstacles in our way knowingly.” 

Being loath to refuse his invitation out of hand I pon¬ 
dered whether I should not tell him that I must first consult 
with the bishops and so give answer at a later time. But 
there was that in the face of Francis which said that mine 
answer was already known to him. Wherefore I spake with¬ 
out postponement, saying: “ My good will is with ye, but 


AWAKENING 


zig 

I cannot go. The years weigh upon me, and I am not yet 
fully restored from the heaviness whereof thou knowest. 
Go thou and the Little Brothers in the strength of your 
youth. Ye have my blessing, and mayhap when I am healed 
of mine indisposition I shall yet join your company.” 

But though it was not expedient for me to become one 
of his band, I was much with Francis unto the day of his 
death, and when he had gone I mourned him as I had 
mourned my prophets in the days when I was Israel’s god. 

Now while the spirit of Francis still lingered in the land, 
albeit his body had vanished, a prayer arose from a church 
that was building in Padua. By its sound it held more of 
indignation than of worship, wherefore I went forthwith to 
learn what was required of me. He who prayed was at first 
concealed from me for that the whole nave was filled with 
ladders and wooden staging, mounds of wet plaster on 
mortarboards, and pots of various pigments. But his voice 
was plainly to be heard in contention with certain others 
before the high altar, where were priests gathered, and 
workmen, and in their midst a homely man covered from 
neck to heels by a painter’s smock, and with him one whose 
rich clothing betokened him the nobleman whose gener¬ 
osity had conceived the new edifice. 

“ Behold, signore,” the senior priest said solemnly, and 
his hand swept the range of paintings on the fresh plastered 
walls, “ Messer Giotto has put his figures into such garments 
as we see about us, the attire of merchants, artisans and 
even the common peasantry. He has defied the traditions 
of ecclesiastical art and cheapened the house of God. 
Mark that goatherd. Canst thou not, signore, almost smell 
the dung and garlic? Verily he is a profanation to the 


220 


I, YAHWEH 


Christ on the altar. Such license dissolves the spell of 
religion. Mark the Magdalen in that panel! She is a 
woman of the bagnio to the very life, and desecrates the 
edifice. Messer Giotto had in a prostitute to sit, or rather 
to kneel, for her portrait. This he did when there was 
available the daughter of our lay sacristan, a beautiful and 
modest girl, who had previously been copied for the Vir¬ 
gin in another of his pictures. I assure you he made this 
courtesan kneel there in the aisle with her back to the 
Mother of Christ while he drew her face. What say you, 
signore, should Messer Giotto fill with the offscouring of 
the streets this beautiful church that you have raised to the 
glory of God? ” 

But the nobleman said nought, looking rather to the 
man Giotto that he should tell his side. Whereupon Giotto 
made his defense, saying: “ Would this priest have me use 
one model for the Virgin and the Magdalen? When I 
paint a Magdalen I paint a woman from the bagnio, as he 
says, or better still, a broken courtesan whose favors once 
came high. Most certainly I do not give her a virgin’s face. 
Has the good father ever been in a bagnio? ” Which ques¬ 
tion giving offense, he pursued it not. “ Or has he ever 
numbered among his penitents a castoff favorite of some 
lord? ” 

The priest showing himself in no answering mood, the 
painter continued: “ If so, he doubtless knows the ravages 
that ill use and a restless conscience work on the counte¬ 
nance of a woman who the while she plies her bawdy trade 
is stirred by desire to repent nobly, as did the Magdalen 
whom our Lord forgave in the house of Simon. Tell me 
truly, my lord, whether or no you see written in the Mag¬ 
dalen’s face this strife between sinner and penitent. 

“ Again, he speaks contemptuously of the garments I 
have painted and professes himself offended by their com- 


AWAKENING 


221 


monness. But what would you, my lord? For centuries 
have our artists painted their Italian models in Byzantine 
garments which they have never seen man or woman wear, 
tracing the loops and angles, the false plaits, the wholly im¬ 
possible arrangement of draperies that are but the rude 
attempt of Byzantine artists of long ago to paint the gar¬ 
ments that they saw. Against this aping of other men’s 
errors have I revolted. And forasmuch as I have never seen 
the Byzantine dress, I paint Roman, Florentine, Venetian, 
Milanese fashions. I go to nature. Tell me, my lord, if 
I do not well to prefer a living Italian goatherd above a 
wooden saint.” 

He ceased, and albeit not in agreement I found myself 
admiring the ease and warmth of his speech. 

Then the nobleman questioned him, saying: “ Whence 
came you by this novel and intelligent conception of your 
art, Messer Giotto? I would know, for I am assured by 
competent persons that you are the principal artist of the 
time.” 

“ When I was a youth, signore,” said Giotto, “ I was ap¬ 
prenticed to Cimabue, the master painter. With him I 
went to the great Church of St. Francis in Assisi to aid in 
fashioning the frescoes that commemorate the life of the 
saint. Before I put brush to plaster, yea, ere I marked out 
a sketch, I studied the life and words of him whom I was to 
depict. And this study of Francis taught me three things 
among others. First, that the sensuous and spiritual in man 
are but a double expression of a nature in its essence one. 
Second, it is best to live joyously in nature, attending well 
to common things. Finally I learned from Francis, first the 
right, then the method, and lastly the joy of freedom. 
Wherefore not I only, but sundry other painters, poets, phi¬ 
losophers, have cast off the graveclothes that they of the 
church so greatly admire.” 


222 


I, YAHWEH 


But even as the nobleman pondered the words of Giotto, 
the priest spake again: “ Signore, believe me, I who am a 
priest of God know what is fitting in the church, and I know 
that Messer Giotto’s paintings are not fitting, by reason 
that they bring secular life within the walls and thus do 
violence to religion.” 

But Giotto said: “ I, my lord, am a painter, a not inferior 
one, you are kind enough to say; and I know what is sound 
in my craft. If you desire art in bondage — ” And he 
shrugged his shoulders. 

Whereupon the patron of priest and also of artist walked 
before the altar for some moments considering the case. 
Then, pausing, he turned to Giotto and said, “ Messer 
Giotto, go on with your work according to the light that is 
in you.” And he went quickly out. 

Whereupon Giotto climbed upon his staging and went 
vigorously to the task of applying his colors to the wet 
plaster. 

Seeing that I lingered after the others he stopped long 
enough to say: “ One might suppose, signore, that the good 
God were an eastern potentate and these priests his eu¬ 
nuchs. Now, I am a religious man, and in a certain sense a 
disciple of Francis — though I hold his ideal of poverty to 
be extravagant, inasmuch as there could be no art without 
patronage of the rich. And I like not his celibacy. I could 
not do without my Ciuta, who has willingly borne me 
eight children. Yes, I am truly religious and a Franciscan 
to an extent; but these priests who think that you must say 
art over and over again like a pater noster — ” And he 
finished with a gesture of the hand that I recognized as not 
altogether appropriate to a religious man addressing his 
god. 

Wherefore I bethought me what confusion might be 
wrought if each man were permitted to elect his own princi- 


AWAKENING 


2*3 

pies and to follow them freely. And when the senior priest 
addressed me in the porch, saying: “You have heard the 
wild ass bray. Was not justice visited on the citizens of 
Babel for less than this? ” — I was inclined somewhat to¬ 
ward him, even as I had been somewhat toward Giotto, 
and I said, “ When man divests himself of his proper humil¬ 
ity, the church loses the power that it hath over him to do 
him good.” 

Nevertheless I thought: “ Mayhap had I encouraged the 
church to go hand in hand with Francis, there had been a 
freshening from within, where now his teachings do but 
sow in the laity the seeds of revolt.” 


More and more was I minded to leave earthly affairs in 
the priestly hands. Mine altars, my sacraments and pag¬ 
eantries served to keep the thought of me before the peo¬ 
ple; the theologians spake in my name what doctrine they 
thought safe for men to believe and corrected such errors 
as arose through too ambitious uses of the mind; the bish¬ 
ops, who had attained the dignity of princes, enforced order 
and promoted every holy interest. As it was in the days be¬ 
fore Amos led me from the sanctuary, so was it again, albeit 
I made not the comparison. 

With pressing affairs so well disposed of I had leisure to 
dwell much in the past, which liked me above other pur¬ 
suits. Many items of curious interest from Hebrew and 
early Christian times I recovered by my retrospection; the 
which, being spoken in the ears of scholars, did afford them 
edification. 

And so generations came into being and perished the 
while I lived my past again in the company of learned men, 
hearkening not to the din of theological battles wherein 


I, YAHWEH 


22 4 

warriors felled one another with syllogisms or inflicted mor¬ 
tal wounds with a word. 

There came a day when, while I thus browsed in the fields 
of antiquity, I was assailed by so strong an agony of prayer, 
attended with an odor of burning flesh, that verily for the 
moment I thought myself back in Herod’s temple. 

Yet the odor was not of ox or lamb, nor was it rank like 
goatflesh. It was a hateful reek that of late I had been sensi¬ 
ble of in many a burning, yet had ignored. Now the fumes 
assailed me as with an illness, so charged were they with 
portent of evil. Moreover, the prayer that arose out of 
Rouen was anguished and most pitiful. 

Wherefore finding myself in the public square, accom¬ 
panied by the Bishop of Beauvais and a great crowd of folk 
who looked upon a woman being consumed by a fire of 
faggots, I addressed the bishop, saying: “ This is a use of 
the sacrificial fire that hath never been acceptable to me 
from the time when Abraham refused it. I am grieved 
and dishonored by the burning of this maid at the threshold 
of my church. How could ye so mistake my will? ” 

The bishop fingered the cross that rested on the bulge 
of his surplice. “ We do it not by way of offering a sacri¬ 
fice/’ he made answer. “ In truth, we of the church do it 
not at all. It is the secular arm that sets torch to the here¬ 
tic.” 

Having extended his episcopal ring to be kissed by one 
who knelt before him, he continued: “ Furthermore, were 
the purpose of this burning positive, to show thee honor, it 
would indeed be an offense, derogatory to thy holiness, but 
being negative in its intent it is useful to protect thee and 
thy church from heresy most malign and obstinate.” 

He brushed off an ember that lighted on his mantle, 
and stamped it out. “ This maid — if one may suppose 
her maid who these many months hath been in the keeping 


AWAKENING 


*25 

of the soldiery — this maid or wanton, after she had aroused 
the men of the land and led them to the defeat of the Eng¬ 
lish at Orleans — by some use of sorcery, I doubt not—• 
did take Charles the Dauphin into the cathedral at Rheims 
and there set the crown upon his head, assuming power to 
consecrate him King of France, an office which the church 
alone may perform. These and many other unwomanly 
and witchlike deeds was she guilty of. And though her 
lips did the while profess allegiance to the same holy church, 
yet her willful acts, and especially her omissions, did ob¬ 
stinately protest the church’s authority. 

“ Wherefore an ecclesiastical court, with concurrence of 
a special emissary of the Holy Inquisition, after much delay, 
patient entreaty, and ample opportunity given for recan¬ 
tation, did hand over her body that the civil power might 
chasten it, hoping still for the salvation of her soul. Had 
she been left to continue in her heresy, who knows how 
many thousands, emboldened by her example, might 
have protested themselves into hell? ” 

While the wind swirled the embers and blew the fine 
dust of the maid’s ashes into mine eyes, I heard a German 
monk say, “ Let us hope the case were well proved against 
her.” Yet turning to the people, he said, “Judge, now, 
how holy is our faith, that its purity and security may jus¬ 
tify a price so great.” 

But an English lord who stood by, one who boasted that 
he had been present at her trial urging death, said: “ Con¬ 
tempt for the bishops, marry, was the least part of her 
offense. The greater evil was her flouting of the lords. 
For she roused the rabble with her cry of ‘ France, France! ’ 
As though there were some all-embracing sovereign realm 
above the duchies and baronies! There is a corrupting in¬ 
fection abroad. Whence it ariseth God wot. In mine 
own land there be many who cry not for Suffolk, Gloucester, 


I, YAHWEH 


226 

Northumberland or Norfolk. Nay, marry. But mercers, 
brewers and armorers, grooms, clerks and potboys throw 
up their caps and shout for 4 Merry England.’ ’Twere 
well to make quick end of these upstarts who ignore church 
and baronies in favor of what new thing God knoweth.” 

Now verily I knew not. But from that moment I set 
about studying this danger whereby the baronies must be 
regarded as holding common cause with the church against 
peoples striving for nationhood. 

Moreover, I pondered upon nationhood itself and felt 
some unease because of it. Did they who spake with pride 
of their nation or their land intend thereby that the soil of 
each land was sacred in some special way or that differ¬ 
ences of language bespake superior and inferior blood? 
And would differences in blood and soil do aught to my 
godship? 


XVI 


CHRISTENDOM DIVIDES 


^Forward from that time I found everywhere through¬ 
out the Western world a restless seeking after a thing which 
men called freedom. It rose like a tide which neither I 
nor my priests had power to repel. Furthermore, a tense¬ 
ness of expectation lay upon Europe as if Christendom 
were now consciously awaiting the birth of the new epoch 
whose conception had been with Francis. Resist though 
I tried, yet was I often disturbed to find that mine own 
thought responded to the unease that was upon the world. 
For there was much in the new that seemed more like to 
the ways of the prophets and the Galilean than were the 
teaching and practices of the church. 

During three centuries, my church and I being seriously 
embarrassed by the growing independence of men, I 
looked for the reason of it, and at first I said: “ It is Francis 
who is the leaven in the loaf. He and his have awakened 
all, even as they awakened me.” But later I perceived that 
Francis was only religion’s part in this new awakening of 
mankind, whereto the fall of Constantinople and the com¬ 
ing of scholars to Italy also contributed much. For the new 
learning, even as the doctrine of Francis, caused men to 

227 






I, YAHWEH 


228 

seek knowledge of themselves and of all else wherewith to 
better their lives. 

Nor was it the laity only that was eager to take to itself 
the new things. Certain of the popes, bishops and lesser 
clergy, either through sincere enthusiasm or through the 
desire to pose as men of the world, were led to patronize 
the new arts, sciences, philosophies, literatures that rode 
the tide of freedom, albeit on the whole churchmen still 
distrusted an innovation until it could be proved harmoni¬ 
ous with the ancient doctrines and hence not subversive 
of churchly authority. 

Now for the well-being of the church, and hence ulti¬ 
mately for the good of men’s souls, I endorsed caution and 
recommended to my clergy that they make me known as a 
god of strict order whose power over man dated from old 
time and whose will might not be debated. Nonetheless, 
inasmuch as methods of perfecting our defense lagged of 
necessity behind the strategy of attack which grew stead¬ 
ily in strength and skill under the direction of scholars, 
scientists and schismatic theologians, our dominion was al¬ 
ways in jeopardy. Wherefore we feared the end of all order 
and security in human society and employed strong meas¬ 
ures to keep the common people in dread of our authority. 

In the period of which I speak, St. Peter’s Church was 
in process of building. And the work required sums of 
money not easily come by in the See of Rome. Hence the 
pope devised a plan whereby the outlying regions might 
be put under contribution. He authorized a sale of in¬ 
dulgences and intrusted the details of its execution in a 
certain territory to one John Tetzel, who was prior of the 
Dominican convent in Leipzig. 

Now an indulgence was no new thing. The church had 
long taught that Christ by his holy life, and especially by his 
death on the cross, had stored up a great supply of merit. 


CHRISTENDOM DIVIDES 


229 

To this surplus the saints had in turn contributed, until 
the whole added up to a well-nigh unlimited hoard of 
grace from which, under certain conditions, sincere peni¬ 
tents might draw in order to mitigate the punishment that 
they had incurred. But albeit the pope, since he held the 
keys of earth and heaven, presided over this vast store of 
grace, yet had he hitherto broached it only in return for 
worthy acts. 

Now I said nought when Leo proposed to offer for sale 
these special goods, for I took it kindly that he should be 
building me St. Peter’s and I knew well that payment must 
be made. Yet I liked not that he should bargain after the 
manner of the money-lenders, nor that he should traffic 
as he did with that Archbishop of Mayence in respect to 
the breaking of the canon law. For Albert of Brandenburg 
was not archbishop only, but bishop over other two dioceses. 

And I was present when the price for this breaking of the 
law was being settled by the emissaries of the parties meet¬ 
ing together. And the pope’s man said, “ His Holiness 
shall have twelve thousand golden ducats for the honor of 
the twelve apostles.” 

Whereto did the agent of Albert reply, “ The prince will 
pay seven thousand to escape the penalties of the seven 
deadly sins.” 

And they agreed at long length upon ten thousand, which 
number ten, I bethought me, was the number of the com¬ 
mandments of Moses. 

But inasmuch as Albert must needs seek aid of the bank¬ 
ing house of Fugger, the pope permitted that he use in¬ 
dulgences by way of surety. And Albert was to sell the in¬ 
dulgences and pay a part to the pope and with the other 
part repay the house of Fugger. 

Then in certain German cities appeared Tetzel to hawk 
his ecclesiastical wares: “ Attend, good folk, and be well 


I, YAHWEH 


230 

advised that His Holiness, Pope Leo X, called by God to 
be the loving shepherd of all Christian souls, hath pub¬ 
lished and authorized the distribution of a special indul¬ 
gence available to all who truly repent their sins and faith¬ 
fully confess the same, seeking the pardon of heaven and 
professing themselves determined henceforth to live a 
godly life by the grace of Christ. 

“ By special direction of His Holiness and with the con¬ 
currence of my lord, the Archbishop of Mayence, do I now 
offer to you the benefits of this indulgence. Wherefore, 
bethink you of your many sins and consider well the penal¬ 
ties which the good conscience of the church must of neces¬ 
sity lay upon you therefor in this life, and the greater 
punishments which a righteous God must inflict in the 
world to come. You that have offended by yielding to the 
lusts of the flesh — gluttons, drunkards, fornicators, adul¬ 
terers; you who have sinned in waywardness of mind, giv¬ 
ing place in your thoughts to heresies and the prideful 
opinions of men falsely called scholars; you that are guilty 
of the sins of an unregenerate spirit — lying, pride, envy, 
malice, backbitings, strife — take advantage, I charge and 
implore you, of this unexampled leniency to which God 
has moved the Holy Father. 

“ And know that the efficacy of this indulgence is not 
confined to the life that now is. So great is the goodness 
of God and the mercy of the pope that even those who toil 
and languish in purgatory may be released from a large 
measure of their sufferings if the living friends that loved 
them will have compassion on the helpless dead and secure 
this indulgence for their comfort. Bethink you, therefore, 
of your fathers and mothers who nurtured you tenderly 
but who this day are tortured for their misdeeds. Picture 
your children who died in your arms that sheltered them 
against the ills of this life but could not wrest them from 


CHRISTENDOM DIVIDES 2 %l 

the hands of our last great enemy, death. You cannot call 
them back to your bosoms, but you can temper their present 
sufferings and deliver them the sooner into paradise. 
Wherefore buy, good folk, buy! ” 

Thus cried Tetzel; and I marked how well he did, play¬ 
ing on the terrors of the ignorant and touching also their 
kindlier side. Yet I scarce knew what to think when he 
went beyond custom and extended the benefit of indul¬ 
gences to the dead. 

Now there was in the University of Wittenberg an 
Augustinian monk named Martin Luther who served as 
preacher and professor of biblical theology. Inasmuch as 
he was versed in dialectic more than most, and to an extent 
influenced by the new spirit of freedom, it was ever his 
custom to raise questions about purity in teaching and prac¬ 
tice, until his conscience both nettled those in authority 
and plagued himself. 

Nor were my clergy surprised that Luther should oppose 
the sale of the indulgence. Yet none looked for the bitter 
and general quarrel which he provoked. 

“ It makes a mockery of true religion,” he made cry. 
“ The grace of God that forgives sin is free, and his mercy 
that absolves the soul from penalties on earth and in pur¬ 
gatory is granted the sincere penitent without price.” 

Wherefore, while the monk Tetzel said, “ Buy! ” Luther 
said, “ Buy not! ” 

Now had the sale been a spiritual undertaking Luther 
had been justified in his complaint. But the higher clergy 
and I recognized two separate spheres, a spiritual and a 
practical. Accordingly, Leo undertook to chastise Luther 
for his insubordination in this and other matters. Nor did 
I stand in his way when he proposed to authorize a trial. 


A prayer came up to me from the hostel of the Knights 
of St. John in the city of Worms: “ O God of the prophets. 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, thou only Fountain of 
Truth, thou Protector of the weak and Strong Fortress of 
them that are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: Grant me 
strength to hold firm for the truth though all men and the 
devils of hell rise against me.” 

It was the monk’s voice that called, and though I was 
not in agreement with him I recognized an authority in 
its tone that made me answer him speedily. 

When I appeared unto him, Luther mistook me for the 
angel of the presence. Wherefore he called upon me for 
strength to stand his ground, but I rebuked him, saying: 
“ By what right dost thou make this transaction of the holy 
church a matter of faith and spiritual import when its 
import is practical only? And mark thou, even were it a 
spiritual matter, jurisdiction would still rest with the pope, 
since to him is entrusted authority to interpret the Scrip¬ 
tures. Thinkest thou that the pope will hearken to an 
Augustinian, and a peasant? ” 

“ No,” said Luther, “ but I believe that the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ will.” 

Then, lest he pursue an appeal that was at the moment 
too direct for my liking, I reminded him, “ The pope doth 
stand as intermediary for God.” 

“ That is the point at issue,” returned Luther, drawing 
assurance now that he found himself in argument. For 
disputation liked him well. “ The Scriptures are the rule 
of life, this I grant. But the pope has not a sole right of 
interpretation. God made us separate souls each one, and 
every man is answerable to God for the discharge of his 


CHRISTENDOM DIVIDES 233 

responsibilities. Therefore must each of us be permitted 
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to interpret the sense 
of Scripture for himself — provided he be an instructed 
man. I must be free.” 

“ Free! ” said I. “ Vain man, to magnify thyself wouldst 
thou destroy the authority of the church? ” 

Luther spread wide his hands. “ Free in a sense only,” 
he said. “ The conscience of every man is bound to the 
sovereignty of God. Therefore will I be unhindered by all 
intermediaries that would stand between me and mine 
understanding of his dread law, which if I do it not will 
condemn me unto hell.” 

Being less practiced than Luther in the principles of 
dialectic, and therefore unable quickly to contrive an an¬ 
swer to his contention, I said only, “ Let the issues of the 
morrow decide that,” and departed, though Luther would 
right willingly have detained me unto my conviction. 

Now when the day of the trial came, both sides did call 
upon me lustily. Thus I was early at the great hall of the 
bishop’s palace, and therefore had time in plenty to observe 
the company there gathered. And I beheld bishops in their 
robes and miters, with their clerks flapping about them like 
rooks; learned doctors of theology stern and aloof; princes 
and lords of the realm, with retainers well decked in crim¬ 
son and gold and argent; the Emperor Charles himself, in 
the insignia of his many offices, brocaded, jeweled, scep- 
tered, crowned, and not lacking the support of military 
force. Looking upon the picture that they made I said, 
“ Verily, Yahweh, thou hast gone far since thou wert a des¬ 
ert god, aye, and since thou didst leave Palestine behind 
thee to become god to the Western world.” 

Then, even while I looked with pride upon the men ap¬ 
pointed to be his judges, I marked the tonsured Augus- 


I, YAHWEH 


2 34 

tinian, how mean he seemed in this goodly company and 
how pitiable in that he so little understood the might which 
he had challenged. 

“ Friar Martin Luther/* cried the clerk of the Diet; and 
the monk arose. 

And lo, as mine eye rested upon him, the picture of 
that room suddenly became other. For when he rose to 
face them the calm of his thin white face, the set of his 
wide shoulders with the bones that showed like knobs 
under his garments, did of a sudden turn my lords and 
bishops to puppets decked in tinsel. And when his lips 
formed the words, “ O God of the prophets, be with me 
this day; for of a truth the battle is thine/* it was as though 
a new prophet had taken his place in the line of my proph¬ 
ets of ancient days. 

In a burst of light the hateful centuries were blotted 
out. My sleep was as if it had not been. I was young 
again, and this was ancient Judea. And I said, “ Amos 
yet lives ”; and, eager to be about some godlike action, 
I passed prince and cleric and took my stand beside 
Luther. 

And I whispered in Luther’s ear: “Martin, Martin, 
mein lieber Sohn, fiirchte dich nicht, ich bin mit dir, 
weiche nicht, denn ich bin dein Gott. Ich starke dich, 
ich helf dir auch, ich erhalte dich durch die rechte Hand 
meiner Gerechtigkeit.” 

Now Luther was exceeding glad of this assurance, and 
sweeping the lordly company with his courageous glance 
did cry aloud in the German tongue: “ Der Herr ist mein 
Heifer, und will mich nicht fiirchten. Was sollte mir ein 
Mensch thun?” 

But the president rebuked him, commanding that from 
that time forward he use the Latin. 

And the clerk summoned also the learned Doctor Eck, 


CHRISTENDOM DIVIDES 235 

the court’s accusing advocate, that he should arise. And 
Eck took into his hands three books and read the titles 
thereof aloud: “To the Christian Nobility of the German 
Nation! On the Babylonish Captivity of the Church! 
The Freedom of the Christian Man! Are these your 
writings, Friar Martin? ” 

“ They are, reverend father.” 

Whereupon his accuser turned to a place that was 
marked with a silken ribbon, and he read, “ ‘ A Christian 
man is the most free lord of all, and subject to no one.’ ” 
And thereafter he questioned Luther, saying: “ Are these 
your words? Do you own their meaning? ” 

And Luther replied: “ They are. I do.” 

Then did Eck address the court, charging Luther with 
rebellion and heresy, and demanding that he deny what 
he had written. Whereafter the friar was bidden to de¬ 
fend himself. 

Now Luther began his defense hesitantly, and marking 
this I whispered yet again in his ear, saying: “ Be bold, 
fear not, Martin. For is it not written, ‘ When they bring 
you unto magistrates and powers, take no thought how 
or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say ’? Therefore 
open thy mouth, Martin, and I will fill it.” 

Whereupon he spake with such eloquence that his ac¬ 
cusers and judges hearkened in silence. And he denied 
not the words that he had written, saying rather: “ Here 
I stand; I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” 

Now there were some in the court and a great company 
in the streets who rejoiced that Luther’s defense had been 
strong and the prosecution weak. On which account there 
was gladness in the city that night. As for me, I too was 
lifted up for having thus unexpectedly emerged from an 
era of priests that had been long beyond all reason into 
what promised to be the era of a new prophet. 


I, YAHWEH 


236 

But now there came to pass a curious thing. When the 
rejoicing had partly subsided, I marked a strangeness of 
behavior in my feet. And lo, they pointed in two direc¬ 
tions, one forward and the other back, even as had the 
faces of Janus in ancient Rome. And the left foot, that 
itched to follow after Luther, could move no jot by reason 
of the right, which pointed in the direction of the church. 
For in those days there was no science to teach me that 
what appeared to affect my feet was in reality an inward 
affection. Nor could any release me of the twofold per¬ 
sonality that still clung to the millions who worshiped 
me through the communion of the church, while yet it 
clave unto Luther. 

Though Luther was released, yet an edict followed 
after him that commanded all men to slay him and to 
burn his books. Wherefore I instructed one who was his 
friend to spirit him to safe secrecy in the fastnesses of the 
Wartburg. Nor could Luther at that time or for long 
afterward return unto those that were his followers. 


Now while Luther was hiding there came a stirring in 
Swabia and Saxony. Mine ears were filled with a din of 
prayers, some hopeful, others despairing, most of them 
questioning. To all I gave attention, if haply I might 
discover in what form I could lend help. For in Europe 
the system of lords and vassals was breaking, except in 
Germany only, where the counts still ruled in their castles 
over serfs who toiled without respite in the valleys below. 
Yet when the word of Luther’s trial became sown abroad 
in the land, the desire of freedom, that had for so long 
been preparing, could tarry no longer. 

Upon a night there called me from a hut in the forest 


CHRISTENDOM DIVIDES 2^ 

certain who had gathered together to discuss their griev¬ 
ances against their lords. And though some wore about 
their shoulders misshapen coats of goatskin, by far the 
greater part were but thinly protected against the rigors of 
Saxony’s winter. 

One said: “ My liege took from me the fourth part of 
the grain that was mine by right of law. He made claim 
of need to provision his hired soldiery.” 

“ ’Tis nought,” said a second. “ My master took not 
only grain, but two sons to serve him in warfare, where 
the rule says that only one may be demanded.” 

A third said: “ My brother has lain in the dungeon 
these three months. Every day they have beaten him 
with a whip because he snared a rabbit on the demesne 
of a neighbor lord.” 

“ Grain, sons, brothers! ” protested another. “ Little 
you know what a lord may ask or take without asking. 
With never so much as a by-your-leave or a false word of 
love, my lordling took from my woman and me the child 
of our age, a flawless maid. And now he has got her with 
child.” 

In this manner they talked, and I listened a consider¬ 
able time before they drew me again into their conver¬ 
sation. Then at length one of those in goatskin, who 
seemed a leader among them, cried out, saying: “ I call 
the Lord God to witness! It is but right that a man be 
free in respect of his person and worldly estate.” 

Whereupon the thin voice of a child cried suddenly, 
“ The kingdom of heaven is at the door! ” 

And some, being Catholics, crossed themselves, while 
the Lutherans among them but started the motion, and 
then stayed their hands. Then the man who had lately 
spoken said, “ Conrad, bid your fool be silent.” 

But the man Conrad, albeit one of the poorer of them, 


538 I, YAHWEH 

answered with some show of authority: “ He is no fool. 
The grace of God is in him. While he was kitchen boy 
in the castle where Master Martin Luther is housed, Mas¬ 
ter Luther himself called him a chosen vessel for utter¬ 
ance of the good God’s will.” And he turned to the boy: 
“ Say on, son Heinrich, and tell us what the Lord has for 
us to hear.” 

The lad stood up in his rags, and his teeth chattered, 
but as he spake he warmed as if with his own ardor. 
Much of what he said was concerning dreams that he 
had dreamed, but not all, for he told of a letter that 
Martin Luther had written while he was in the castle, 
and gave witness to the hope that he had in this letter: 
“ The good God has looked on our misery and has opened 
his heart toward us and raised up Pastor Luther to bring 
us deliverance. For this reason I cry everywhere, ‘ The 
kingdom of heaven is at the door.’ And so says Pastor 
Luther.” 

Whereupon one of the men who but a moment before 
had made the sign of the cross cried: “Now God be praised 
for Martin Luther. He is the man for us ’gainst pope and 
prince.” 

But he of the goatskin mocked them, saying: “ I called 
the lad fool; now fools I call you all. Think you that this 
renegade friar will stand our part if trouble come? I tell 
you no. Rather will he cling to the princes like a suck¬ 
ling to the sow’s teat. For it hath already been noised 
abroad that although Martin Luther wrote a letter in our 
behalf, this letter hath grievously offended the nobles, 
even him in whose castle Friar Martin now lies.” 

“ Pastor Luther has the courage to stand with God and 
the people,” said the lad Heinrich. “ Send him surety 
of your trust and you shall see how stout he will be in 
your behalf. The kingdom of heaven is at the door.” 


CHRISTENDOM DIVIDES 2 39 

Now some were ready to think that this word was of 
the good God himself, and all thought that it must at 
least have trial. Wherefore their argument now turned 
on the question of whom they should choose to send. Nor 
could they in any way agree; for some who were willing 
were judged unfit, while others hung back who seemed 
to their fellows meet for the task. 

Lest their mission fail for lack of a spokesman I revealed 
myself unto them and made offer to serve as emissary. 

But the men, beholding me, were sore afraid, inas¬ 
much as they believed themselves to have spoken their 
grievances before one sent thither by the lords to spy upon 
them. Then the lad Heinrich gazed on me with shining 
eyes and cried: “ It is an answer to prayer. He is a man 
of God sent to help us. Let him go to Pastor Luther. 
Now is the kingdom of God verily at the door.” 

Whereto they all agreed except one, for he of the goat¬ 
skin took no part in the decision but shrugged with his 
shoulders as though hopeless of reasoning with men who 
had taken leave of their senses to follow a fool. And he 
said, “ Even if Luther stand firm, what can profit us a 
man who has both the church and the lords against him? ” 

Now that same night when Luther had finished reading 
his Bible and reciting his prayers in the great hall of the 
castle wherein he was lodged, I followed after him to the 
room that was his privately, and requested to speak with 
him. And when he had consented I made my cause at 
once known unto him. 

“ Friend, you touch a sensitive chord in my heart,” 
he said easily, and I marked that the pallor was gone from 
his face. “ I grieve over every fresh report of wrongs done 
to the children of the soil. I myself am of peasant stock. 
Do you, too, derive from the soil? ” 

“ Question not my derivation,” I answered, “ but know 


240 I, YAHWEH 

that I was once close knit in affection to a certain carpenter 
of noble mind to whom I am deeply indebted. Therefore 
do I feel myself akin to the poor of earth and would help 
them as I find opportunity.” 

“ It is a worthy sentiment,” returned Luther, and I 
marked that his roughness and plainness had taken on 
in some measure the delicacy of the prince that was his 
host. •“ But, since you are their emissary, I must tell you 
that the peasants of Germany are at the moment in a 
situation with which I can meddle only at hazard to a 
cause more precious than theirs. The whole future of 
true religion is, in a sense, bound up in my person. Those 
holy interests to which I have devoted myself are in need 
of powerful friends and I must take care to offend none 
who might be of assistance. I have been raised up by 
God to lead a revolt of mind and conscience against Rome. 
I am committed to a reformation in the spiritual realm 
and must for the moment confine my battle for freedom 
strictly to that sphere.” 

“ You speak of true religion,” I reminded him. “ Is it 
not the proper work of religion to lift up the humble and 
those that are oppressed? ” 

“ I have told you where my sympathies do lie,” Luther 
protested. “ I have tried to win over the princes but they 
would make me no concessions. What more may I do? 
Furthermore, we must remember that however soft was 
Christ’s feeling for the poor his gospel contemplates a 
spiritual and not a temporal emancipation. The peas¬ 
ants should be glad that I have shown them how to be 
spiritually free.” 

Now when I compared this Luther of the castle with 
him of the courtroom, I questioned whether his powerful 
friendships might not have made him heady. Neverthe¬ 
less I pursued my mission lest I fail the peasants’ expec- 


CHRISTENDOM DIVIDES 241 

tations of me. And I said, “ Doth not the whole of a man’s 
life, bodily and spiritual, depend upon the hope that he 
hath of his work and the condition of his dwelling? ” 

But Luther replied only, “ The serf does not seek to 
ape his lord in the manner of his living.” 

Whereto I returned with somewhat of sharpness, “ Be¬ 
ing a peasant’s son, thou shouldst know.” 

And Luther answered me yet more sharply, saying, 
“ Who are you to arraign me thus discourteously? ” And 
he added: “ I will tell you this: even if other considerations 
leave me free, my hands are bound by a recent act of 
violence on the peasants’ side. The serfs have taken up 
sword and torch in Swabia and impiously defied the con¬ 
stituted powers. No just man can countenance such 
action.” 

“ Ah, Luther,” I chided, “ how canst thou so speak that 
knowest how the nobles have robbed, beaten, murdered, 
raped the patient folk who have worked their lands, and 
have left them nothing but their bodies and dimmed 
minds wherewith to suffer and their bruised hearts where¬ 
with to hope against hope? Is it strange if the desperate 
now answer in kind when they hear freedom call from 
every hilltop? Make the princes but listen and they may 
yet meet their serfs halfway.” 

But Luther yielded no whit to mine appeal, saying 
only: “ There is a divinity that cloaks itself in a prince’s 
will, for which reason Paul bids us be subject to the higher 
powers. The serf’s part is to take with thanksgiving and 
bear with fortitude what is meted out to him. Only when 
the peasant is raised to be a prophet of God may he un¬ 
cover his head before his lord. Understand, however, 
that I am at heart for the poor and would see them free 
in every respect. But I have the patience to abide God’s 
day. The first consideration at the moment is to keep 


I, YAHWEH 


242 

the friendship of those who can save the new freedom of 
the spirit. In years to come, no doubt, scholars and men 
of God, exercising this freedom to the full, will care for 
the rights of the peasants.” 

Whereupon Luther seated himself at his table and fell 
to writing, and I could see that by this action he purposed 
to put an end to the interview, after the manner of princes. 

Now I marked that there stood in a corner a pile of 
fresh pamphlets. And the title thereof gave me pause, 
for it read: 

Against the Murdering, Robbering 
Rats of Peasants 
An Address to the German Nobility 

BY 

Doctor Martin Luther 

And within I saw written: “ Stab, kill, strangle.” 

My sorrow spake for me, against my better judgment: 
“ Martin, are these thy words? ” 

And he replied shortly: “ They are. Who are you to 
question them? ” 

“ Since thou knowest not, I will tell thee who I am,” 
I answered in a voice that I could not make hard for the 
sorrow that was in me. “ I am he that stood by thee in 
the audience chamber at Worms, and whispered, ‘ Fear 
not, I am with thee/ And I heard when they read from 
thy writings, 4 A Christian man is the most free lord of 
all and subject to no one* — words that the peasants 
have taken unto their hearts; wherefore they ask to be 
free in respect of their persons and worldly estate. Martin, 
consider well, lest thou betray the cause of the prophets.” 

“ Liar! Blasphemer! Devil! ” cried Luther. “ It was 
God who spoke to me in the audience chamber. God, 


CHRISTENDOM DIVIDES 243 

at whose bidding Christ said, ‘ Render unto Caesar the 
things that are Caesar’s/ would never seek to come be¬ 
tween a man and his prince.” 

And he took the pot of ink that was beneath his hand, 
and cast it full at me where I stood, crying in a loud voice, 
“ My God, I thank thee that thou hast permitted thy 
servant to live for this hour and act.” 

Now Luther was at this time under close guard, inas¬ 
much as his life was in danger by reason of the edict of 
Worms. And when they who watched hard by heard him 
shout, but understood not his words for that the wall be¬ 
tween was very thick, they came with all speed, fearing 
lest an assassin had entered unnoticed of them as they 
played at cards. And when they beheld only Luther and 
saw that he gazed at a blank wall newly defaced with a 
stain of ink, they inquired of him what had befallen. 
Wherefore Luther, seizing at random upon the words that 
lay nearest to his tongue, made answer in rough peasant 
fashion: “ What sort of guard are you to let an emissary 
of the serfs elude your watch? Behold how I, having no 
weapon, was compelled to waste a new pot of ink upon the 
devil.” 

And seeing no one, and knowing Luther for an holy 
man, those of the guard seized only upon the word “ devil,” 
and they caused the report to go forth that Pastor Luther 
had been in sore contest with Satan. 

Wherefore was the spot of ink shown to many for their 
edification. And it came to pass after many years that 
one observer more zealous than the rest did dig it out 
and carry it home for his more continual instigation to 
piety. And the curious along with the pious do to this 
day make a practice of gazing reverently on the hole that 
was left in the wall. 


*44 


I, YAHWEH 


In the days when Luther defied Rome there was a man 
of Switzerland called Ulrich Zwingli who also was in re¬ 
volt. Now this Zwingli had been touched more deeply 
than had Luther by the spirit of freedom; he held the 
mind of man in higher regard and was more apt to swim 
in the stream of the new learning. Therefore, though 
both men stood opposed to Rome, he and Martin did not 
see eye to eye in all matters of faith and hot contention 
arose between the two, especially with regard to the Lord's 
Supper. 

Because he could not abide to see these two leaders and 
their camps at variance, Philip, Prince of Hesse, brought 
them together to try whether their differences might be 
composed. And when they had looked each on the other’s 
face across a table in Philip’s castle at Marburg, Luther 
took a piece of chalk and wrote on the board, “ Hoc est cor¬ 
pus meum.” And he said, “ Zwingli, do we stand together 
it must be with these words, undisputed, linking us, for¬ 
asmuch as Christ said, ‘ This is my body ’ when he gave 
the broken bread to his disciples on the night in which 
he was betrayed.” And he smote on the table with his 
open hand like to a lord addressing his serf. 

But Ulrich, versed in freer interpretations, answered: 
“ Brother Martin, you make yourself a slave to the letter 
that killeth, which is not in keeping with the mind of a 
free and scholarly man. I interpret by the spirit that 
maketh alive. The bread and wine are symbols that me¬ 
diate a blessing to those that partake in faith.” 

" Hoc est corpus meum” insisted Luther; and he smote 
the oak again. 

Now it was plain that the controversy could not be set¬ 
tled by chalk marks or appeal to scholarship. Wherefore 


CHRISTENDOM DIVIDES 245 

did they come to no agreement on the subject of the Gali¬ 
lean’s body and blood. But Luther drew up a statement 
of the new faith in a dozen points and three, on all of 
which they found accord, save the last, that had to do 
with the vexing question of the sacrament. And when 
they were about to part Zwingli put forth his hand and 
said, “ Brother Martin, let us take leave as Christian broth¬ 
ers across this barrier that lies between our minds only.” 

But Luther hid his hand in the folds of his gown. “Nay, 
not as brothers! Brotherhood of the spirit demands a 
common belief and a common communion.” So saying, he 
turned away. 

Now I was present at this dispute, having been invoked 
by the prayer of Zwingli. And moved by an unwonted 
concern for peace in freedom, I cried out in alarm: “ Mar¬ 
tin, Martin, give him a brother’s hand, lest thou destroy 
the nobler part of thine own work. What! Thou wilt 
eat with him, sleep by his side, laugh, play, converse at 
table, sing hymns together with him, make common cause 
against ignorance and wickedness — but for conscience’s 
sake, forsooth, thou canst not be one with him in spirit! 
Beware lest such a temper make a battle flag of the seam¬ 
less dress for which lots were cast at the foot of the cross.” 

But Luther knew me not. He left the room with chin 
thrust forward and flame leaping in his eyes. 

And I saw that a thousand grinning devils looked down 
from the beams of the ceiling; and I cried: “ Alas! This 
chamber is the womb of dissension and the grave of peace. 
This day it spawns foes which the future will behold 
locked in the ungenerous embrace of strife.” 

And from the passage beyond the door I heard again, 
“ Hoc est corpus meum” 

“ Ah! ” cried I in bitterness, for I had hoped for some 
better issue, “ all else may unite; the body of Christ alone 


I, YAHWEH 


246 

divides. Ye call me the universal God, yet would ye dis¬ 
member me with a Latin phrase.” 

“ O my Godl They have the noose about my neck.” 

It was the voice of the astronomer Galileo. I knew not 
whether it uttered sincere prayer or loose ejaculation. 
But I responded, for the times had made me restless and 
I wandered much abroad. And Galileo was held on a 
matter that touched me nearly, having been brought be¬ 
fore the Inquisition for a heresy that threatened the au¬ 
thority of the Scripture, inasmuch as any who accepted 
his teaching that the earth moved around the sun could 
not also sincerely believe with the church that the earth 
was the center of all the universe. Which doctrine was 
necessary, lest the plan of man’s redemption be brought 
into contempt and the Son of God be said to have been born 
and to have suffered death on a planet obedient to that 
sun which millions of pagans had worshiped. 

“ Your eminences,” said Galileo, standing before them 
that judged him in a great hall at Rome, “ I commend 
to you my telescope, that you may see through it the proof 
of mine own observations. There can you see the moons 
of Jupiter revolving around their parent orb as does the 
earth with reference to the sun. Moreover I can at the 
proper time exhibit to you the moon passing between 
earth and sun as it follows its ordained path in the heavens. 
These are not matters to be settled by argument, but plain 
things apparent to the eye.” 

Nonetheless his inquisitor answered: “ No need is there 
for us to look through your God-defying tube. Do not 
the Scriptures say, ‘ The sun, which is as a bridegroom 
coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man 


CHRISTENDOM DIVIDES 247 

to run a race * ? And is it not also written, ‘ The earth 
standeth fast forever ’ ? Through these and other pas¬ 
sages does the word of God make plain the motion of the 
sun and the position of our earth.” 

44 Your eminence, these sayings are but poetry. This 
that I set before you is science.” 

His inquisitor replied: 44 Be convinced, then, out of 
history. It is written in the book of Judges that the 
prophet made the sun stand still. How could he have 
so done if there were no solar motion? And take note 
that it was this hindrance of the sun’s accustomed move¬ 
ment, not a retarding of the earth, that prolonged the day 
so that Israel might have the longer time to chastise the 
enemy.” 

Nor was Galileo permitted to make reply, for a second 
inquisitor arose to confute him further by saying that as 
the astronomer pretended that he had seen mountains 
and valleys on the moon, he thus went against the plain 
statement of Scripture that the moon was created to be 
a great light. 

44 A reflected light,” amended Galileo. 

44 No,” thundered his prosecutor. 44 It is one of your 
offenses that in order to give substance to your impious 
theories you distort the word of God out of its true mean¬ 
ings. A light signifies a source of radiance that burns 
within its own self, nor is there hint of reflection.” 

Whereupon another member of the inquisitorial body 
came forward with attack upon that which Galileo had 
asserted concerning a multiplicity of planets. 44 The num¬ 
ber could not conceivably run to more than seven,” he 
declared, 44 since in the economy of God that is the per¬ 
fect number, as is testified by the enumeration of the 
seven golden candlesticks, the seven spirits of God, the 
seven angels of the seven churches in Asia mentioned by 


I, YAHWEH 


248 

St. John in the Apocalypse. And in the church we have 
seven deadly sins, a complete number admirably adjusted 
to the seven primary weaknesses of human nature; to 
balance which have we been given the seven sacraments 
of grace. Now, inasmuch as God hath clearly exhibited 
a preference for the number seven, it is logical to suppose 
— indeed I will say that it is presumptuous and also de¬ 
rogatory to God not to suppose — the full count of the 
planets exactly seven; that is, supposing there are planets 
other than this earth. 

“ Now, as to the strong probability that the number of 
planets is one, let it be noted that if there be more than 
one they must be inhabited, since we know that God, be¬ 
ing perfect in all his works, maketh nothing in vain. But 
if they be inhabited, it must be by the children of Adam, 
for, as the Scriptures teach, God in the beginning made 
only one man and all others are his descendants by nat¬ 
ural process. How then, or when, was it that the children 
of Adam’s loins were transported across the open space 
that lieth between us and the other planets? Is the empty 
air navigable? ” 

Whereto Galileo made answer: “ Alas, your eminences, 
I am no theologian. Rather am I a simple man who must 
believe what mine eyes show me.” 

“ Believe it not, Galileo,” said one. “ Our eyes are 
as good instruments as yours, but we do not let them be¬ 
tray us into doubt of the word of God. Against the truths 
of religion what weight have the testimony of the fallible 
senses and the vagaries of reason? ” 

Whereupon his inquisitors confronted him with the 
choice of recantation or death. And after some thought 
the astronomer subscribed to a document in which was 
written: “ I, Galileo, being in my seventieth year, being 


CHRISTENDOM DIVIDES 249 

a prisoner and on my knees, and before your eminences, 
having before mine eyes the Holy Gospel, which I touch 
with my hands, do abjure, curse and detest the heresy of 
the movement of the earth.” 

Yet even as he signed, it seemed to me he whispered to 
save his conscience, “ Nevertheless, the earth does move.” 

Now Galileo was a pious though not a scriptural man, 
and he prayed my forgiveness of the denial, arguing his 
case thus: “ Why should God give us eyes if he did not 
intend that we use them? From my earliest days have I 
looked honestly on all thy works and have essayed to 
speak the truth concerning what my sight has shown me 
and my reason established. Canst thou not see, thou who 
hast made all things but the lie, that it is for thine honor 
and glory that the mind of man, so apt to follow thy ways 
in the heavens, be free? ” 

I was touched by this prayer, but I had long been in 
a strait to choose between freedom and conformity and 
could only answer: “ My son, I have indeed countenanced 
man’s insistence on freedom in certain realms. But the 
situation is different with respect to thy desire, which 
concerneth man’s spiritual safety. The universe doth 
become ever more complicated to him that looks into it. 
Wherefore any attempt to penetrate the secrets of nature, 
which are after all no affair of man, doth but tend to 
shatter the simplicity of mind which is requisite for per¬ 
fect comprehension of the truths of religion, as both priest 
and minister will tell thee.” 

Now these words appeared to hearten Galileo, whereat 
I wondered, having had much acquaintance with the stub¬ 
born spirits that cried in freedom’s name, until he said: 
“ Thou dost profess to have granted freedom in other 
realms in reply to man’s insistence. Mayhap there shall 


I, YAHWEH 


25° 

be among those who come after me some that shall in¬ 
sist more fully than I have on freedom for the pursuit of 
knowledge.’* 

But I entreated him: “Nay, nay, my son. There be 
causes of division enough in church and world. Suffer 
not thy science to become another.” 

But thinking later on that face alight with hope, I won¬ 
dered. For I had long since observed that when a hope 
and a thought join hands they together make an energy 
that must burn until it spend itself. And I questioned 
what new thing would come of this desire to search in 
realms formerly held inviolate. 


XVII 


JON WAYE, GENTLEMAN 


XoM the time of the Reformation forward, the spirit 
of protest and the demand for freedom that had marked 
Francis and Giotto and Joan, Luther also and Galileo, 
found harborage everywhere. Men, responding to these 
influences, promoted dissension and divisions without end 
in both church and state. Neither did the retreats of 
scholarship nor the realm of men’s hearts escape contam¬ 
ination. In hovels as in the palaces of kings and bishops 
there was restlessness continually and a demand for new 
things. 

That notable king, Henry VIII of England, wearying 
of his lawful queen Catherine, asked of the pope a di¬ 
vorce, that he might marry one Anne Boleyn. And when 
I heard of this request I laid the pope under strict charge 
that he grant no bill. But Henry would suffer not that 
a chain bind his lust. Seeing that Rome refused approval 
he secured from Parliament a vote that separated England 
from the Holy See — the same Henry who, in zeal for the 
Catholic faith, had written a book against Luther’s schism. 
Aye, and he set up a new church in the English realm with 
himself at its head. And afterward, grown tired of Anne 
in turn, he exceeded the northward and southward readi- 


251 






I, YAHWEH 


252 

ness of David, marrying round the compass — for the 
throne’s sake, as he said, that he might get him an heir. 

Now amidst the general clamor that attended the king’s 
business there were three men in particular who spake to 
me concerning the division which his lewdness made, al¬ 
beit one of them, Thomas Cromwell, he that was secre¬ 
tary to Henry, addressed me with little regard to the 
proper forms of prayer. For said he: “ Name of God! Why 
should the pope bear so heavily upon our master the king, 
seeing that in England and the whole of Europe there be 
lads and lasses without number enjoying the world lustily 
who would still be no more than incorporeal spirits lan¬ 
guishing beneath the throne of heaven did certain high ec¬ 
clesiastics sleep cold o’ nights.” 

And Thomas Cranmer, made Archbishop of Canterbury 
by Henry, one who could judge, none better, of Cromwell’s 
word, spake also with scant deference: “ Thou, God, know- 
est that this affair is hatched less by the heat of Henry’s body 
than by a general unrest of noble minds called forth by the 
corruptions and abuses bred in the church. Do but give 
us a church of sturdy Englishmen and thou shalt see new 
things on earth.” 

But Thomas More, a great scholar, prayed to my better 
liking: “ O God, the church is sore diseased. Let not the 
body of Christ be further sickened and crippled, I beseech 
thee. Since it is the part of kings and bishops, together 
with all men of sound conscience, to purge and heal, give 
grace to us of England that we may stand up to that which 
is our duty in this matter. Forfend that the lust of concu¬ 
piscence in the king alienate the people of this troubled 
land from thine earthly household.” 

And when, after the divorce and remarriage had been ac¬ 
complished by favor of the English church, Henry in his 
royal bed turned from the morning frown of his dear- 


JON WAYE, GENTLEMAN 2 53 

bought wife, he was wont to murmur inly, “ Merciful Christ, 
I am excommunicate! ” (For the pope had cast him out of 
the holy and apostolic church.) And while the cold sweat 
formed on his limbs he would reason, “ Surely God, who 
knoweth all tongues, and English not least, will hear the 
prayer of a true Englishman though it pay not its toll at 
Rome.” 

As for me, I thought: “ Lust is none the less lust though 
it sweat under a royal canopy. But how shall a whole na¬ 
tion’s worship be refused because the king’s incontinence 
hath given it alien forms? ” 

Wherefore I elected to honor the English prayers if so be 
the new church would not tamper with doctrine overmuch 
and would couch its petitions in proper form. 

Yet there came a disturbing thought: I had set out with 
Paul to become the universal God. Now nations were 
beginning to think of me each according to its own par¬ 
ticular bent. What disaster lay at the end of this road? 

Nevertheless, it was good when in England to be known 
as god of the English, and in the German states to hear the 
boast of proprietorship in " unser guter deutsclier Gott” 

Shortly after the reign of Henry it was disclosed to me by 
inward testimony that not even I was proof against the un¬ 
rest that had come upon the spirits of men. Adventurous 
mariners had but recently discovered a new world beyond 
the seas, thus setting new opportunity before the sons of 
Europe. Ever and anon was I called to succor those whose 
hardihood now led them into perils on the seas and in track¬ 
less forests. Being thus introduced to far places I made 
question whether it might not be pleasant to frequent them 
on mine own account, especially since everywhere in Eu- 


I, YAHWEH 


2 54 

rope — at Rome, among the Lutherans and even in the new 
English churches — the air of my habitations had become 
stale. 

“ I called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees to go into an 
unknown land, and Paul led me forth to the gentiles,” I was 
wont to say to myself. “ These journeys gave me new life 
and widened my domain. Who knoweth what the terri¬ 
tories beyond this greater sea may hold? ” 

Then, early in the reign of James Stuart, he that came to 
the English throne when Tudor’s house was no more, I 
chanced to answer a prayer that ascended from the water¬ 
side in the town of Plymouth. There at the quay did I find 
the ship Mayflower with above a hundred folk aboard, and 
they chiefly of the non-conforming sect that would not pray 
by the book that Cranmer had given to be a guide for the 
church of Henry. For they insisted on freedom of con¬ 
science. With the burden of their prayer was I already fa¬ 
miliar, on which account I thought best not to reveal myself 
directly to them. Wherefore I appeared in a habit like to 
theirs, with smallclothes and hosen of decent black and a 
great cloak and broad hat soberly conformable thereto. 
And when I joined myself to a principal man of the com¬ 
pany, who sang lustily, he gave me a book from which he 
scanned the words of his chant: 

They that unto the sea go down 
In ships, God’s providence descry; 

They read his wonders in the deep 

When boisterous waves run heaven-high. 

And he said, “ Truly there is nought like a psalm of 
David, whether set to meter long or short, to bring God 
near and rout our adversary Satan.” 

Forthwith I asked him whither the vessel was bound and 
why. 

“ To the north Virginia colonies ” he answered, “ and to 


JON WAYE, GENTLEMAN 255 

the end that there we may live in godly wise under the di¬ 
vine kingdom.” 

Then I inquired the nature of that kingdom, and he re¬ 
plied: “ A commonwealth will it be of men obedient to the 
good pleasure of heaven, free of all earthly vanities, purged 
of bear-baiting, morris dancing, carding, gaming and pro¬ 
fanity, where, without let from kings, magistrates and pre¬ 
lates of worldly minds, souls that stand in seemly fear of 
God may study to do his just and awful will, if haply they 
may make their calling and election sure and so escape the 
pains of hell.” 

“ And how think ye of God? ” I asked. 

He laid his hand upon the shoulder of a little lad who 
stood near and said, “ How doth man speak of the majesty 
of God? ” 

And the lad answered as from a book: “ There is but one 
only living and true God, who is infinite in being and per¬ 
fection, a most pure Spirit, invisible, without body, parts or 
passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, 
almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute, 
working all things according to the counsel of his own im¬ 
mutable and most righteous will for his own glory, most lov¬ 
ing, most gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in 
goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression and 
sin, the re warder of them that diligently seek him; and 
withal most just and terrible in his judgments, hating all 
sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty.” 

So sternly did the man look on the child while the words 
came forth that I thought he stood between grudging and 
admiration. As for me, I was overwhelmed to hear the 
lad so speak. 

Then, having made inquiry and discovered that there 
was room for yet another passenger, I went aboard. And 
the master mariner, one Christopher Jones, did set down 
the names of all that he carried, and a record of their sta- 


I, YAHWEH 


256 

tions and relationships. And when I gave him my name, 
“ Yahweh,” he did write absently, “Jon Waye, gentleman, 
unattended.” Which afterward I did expunge, that the rec¬ 
ord might be clear, and lest the Society of Mayflower 
Descendants take in some person of that name to their hurt 
and chagrin. 

Concerning the voyage there is nought that need be re¬ 
lated save that I, being determined that these Pilgrims 
come not to land in north Virginia, where the people of the 
established church had brought their customs, did deflect 
the vessel to the north and cause that a landfall be made in 
a little bay whose waters were enclosed by the hook of Cape 
Cod. For I said, “ Let us prove what freedom can do where 
it is not in conflict with the olden customs.” 

Greatly was I pleased to see that the company made it 
the first charge upon their consciences to build me a house 
in the wilderness, for though they knew me not as I mingled 
with them on board ship, they said, “ Surely the God of 
Israel is with us in this new land.” Wherefore they feared 
not anything. 

Now the house that they builded had neither spire nor 
altar; nevertheless the fervor of the preaching and praying 
that were heard therein, and especially the full-voiced 
chanting unaccompanied by stringed instrument or organ, 
imparted to it an indwelling majesty, so that in dignity it 
yielded nothing to Solomon’s temple. 

But the absence of altar and spire in this and later Pil¬ 
grim meeting houses was portent of the multiplication of 
sects that was to come, inasmuch as it pointed the way to de¬ 
parture from the ancient traditions and practices of re¬ 
ligion. 


JON WAYE, GENTLEMAN 257 

Now this diversity of sects was the fruitage of man’s in¬ 
sistence upon liberty. For when the authority of Rome was 
challenged men found that they were without sure guide 
in matters spiritual. And though the Protestant sects did 
for a time ascribe authority to the Scriptures, yet there arose 
the question of interpretation. The principle of freedom 
indicated that each man interpret for himself. But the 
practice of this principle led to two results — that some pur¬ 
sued the truth with singleness of heart, while others took joy 
in being different from their fellows. These latter loved 
disputation more than any other thing and delighted to put 
their brothers in the wrong. Hence, since there was little 
of common purpose to hold it together, Christendom fell 
apart. 

Furthermore, this freedom did manifest itself in a strong 
purpose of the individual man to get gain for himself. Be¬ 
cause men said, “ If we are free it is certainly to the end that 
we may improve our earthly lot.” This they called the 
right of the individual. Wherefore there was little regard 
for the common good. And, forasmuch as men said, “ It is 
God who giveth power to get wealth,” the rich man was 
greatly honored, and in blessing him the churches ofttimes 
blessed his ruthlessness. 

As the individuals were, so did their nations become. 
From time to time when the new world began to yield its 
rich argosies, the nations of the olden world strove to make 
this territory and that their own. Wherefore the separate 
demand of every nation for colonies and markets arose, 
making all nations enemies one of another. Then each 
sought to be strongest, and to arm most cunningly. 

Science, too, achieved under freedom that standing 
which Galileo had foretold. And the ministers of religion 
began to look into it, first that they might preach against 
it, then lest they lose pace with the age. And in time they 


258 I, YAHWEH 

said to me: “ Do not show thyself opposed to science, Yah- 
weh. She is friend to thee, and in two points especially 
does she advantage our spiritual cause. First, by means of 
ready communication she has drawn all nations together, 
and second she has made the weapons of war so deadly that 
the strongest nation will hesitate long before provoking a 
neighbor to fight. Wherefore if science be taken as friend 
of religion, she shall surely lead us into the age of universal 
peace by prophets long foretold. 

“ Furthermore, science has uncovered a great and univer¬ 
sal law, called the law of progress, in whose teachings we are 
told of ‘ some far-off divine event toward which the whole 
creation moves.’ We can now believe that man, no less than 
the cosmos, moves onward and upward forever! ” 

And, wiping their brows as though the effort of their 
speaking had already ushered in the new world, they sat 
them down on the doorstep of the house of science, waiting 
to hear what new thing they might speak. And I took mine 
ease with them, notwithstanding I liked not all that I heard 
at the portal of that house. 

But in course of time, as I saw how the goods of life were 
multiplied by the uses of this new thing, and how men fol¬ 
lowed the savant more respectfully than they followed the 
priest, I bethought me: “ Never has any interest so possessed 
the minds of men or waked such hope in their hearts. It 
may be that it touches that deepest place in the life of hu¬ 
manity whereof Nannar spake to me in the olden time.” 

Wherefore I bade them who served me speak well of all 
science and preach no new thing nor insist upon the older 
teaching until test had been made in the laboratories. For 
I said, “ If I strike hands with the scientist, I shall go on¬ 
ward and upward with mankind and we shall bring in the 
millennium.” 


XVIII 


MAD WORLD 


3 B>ut nay! It was not the millenium that came. It was a 
day of darkness and the shadow of death, hideous with the 
clash of iron on iron, a day wherein bayonet and shell rent 
the flesh from the bones of the beautiful and the strong, a 
day of war and hate such as had not been since time began. 

And in their distress kings and subjects alike called on 
me, each nation praying that I might protect its soil from 
invasion and its blood from being drained away, while each 
locked up its archives, hoping to conceal from me the real 
causes for which they fought. Priests and ministers be¬ 
stowed my benediction upon those who were set aside for 
death, and put my blessing on their swords, their guns, their 
cruisers, their ships that flew in the air, and their little boats 
that went under the water to deal destruction secretly. 

Yea, and there came into the churches generals who had 
given the years of their manhood to studying the arts of war, 
fathers of families, clerks, prowlers from the slums’ gutters, 
peasants whose hearts lingered in the fields of standing 
corn, boys with a vision shining in their eyes. Into my 
churches they came, some swaggering, others shrinking, 
some hoping to find courage, others uneasy in the unac¬ 
customed solemnity. And the holy men poured fiery 

259 






I, YAHWEH 


260 

speeches into their ears and told gross tales that brought 
laughter and prayed until they drew tears. 

Then the lads went out to kill and be killed. And, what¬ 
ever their nation, these words were inscribed on their ban¬ 
ners and in their thoughts: “ For God and the right.” 

Afterward they that ministered before mine altars 
formed circles of prayer among the women, saying: “ If you 
pray in faith with pure hearts, nothing doubting, the God 
of our righteous cause will put a wall about your husbands, 
sons and lovers to save them from death. And the angel of 
his Presence will be with them to keep them from de¬ 
bauchery behind the lines and from the ever present temp¬ 
tation of loose women.” 

Howbeit, many were slain, and unto the women who 
came to mourn for them the wise men proffered such com¬ 
fort as they could, saying, “ The blood of your heroes is min¬ 
gled with the precious blood of Christ who died on the cross 
for the world’s redemption.” 

Now I was sore put to it in those days to fulfill my military 
engagements, with so many nations at war and all depend¬ 
ing on me for encouragement and succor. 

Yet for all that I threw myself into the strife with no 
thought of what was happening to me, the God of all man¬ 
kind, I was ever solicitous of the spiritual welfare of the 
fighting men. 

And I used many devices for keeping up morale, and 
these were some of them: 

Crucifixes, New Testaments, ikons, candies, prophy¬ 
laxis, tobacco. Palm-sized gospels of St. John, woolen 
socks, mufflers, knitted helmets. Bread and wine of 
the last sacrament, body and blood of Christ. " We 
must protect their souls , too , by a moral prophylaxis 
Shiploads of cigarettes. 

My fighting parsons: 


MAD WORLD 


26 1 

“Our padre is a regular fellow. Gets close to the 
men. Nothing sanctimonious about him. A he-man. 
Knows a hell of a lot of good stories .” Medals and 
scapulars blessed by the priests. A hundred thousand 
fly leaves of the Scriptures inscribed by Protestant pas¬ 
tors — “A good soldier of Jesus Christ.” “ We’ll put 
the Word of God into every soldier’s knapsack.” 

The loyal women helpers: 

Red Cross nurses whose heroism matched that of the 
soldiers. The “ Y ” girls. The restless debutantes, 
stenographers weary of their dull routine in drab 
offices; fired with patriotism, all of them, and over¬ 
flowing with admiration of the heroes in khaki. Paris 
leave in the springtime. Sallies in their blue bonnets 
w T ith the red ribbons. " Remember your mother back 
home, brother — and Jesus Christ.” Doughnuts and 
steaming coffee on the station platform when the 
trains for the front pull in at the bleak morning hour. 
" God, it’s good to see a friendly girl from home.” A 
smile and a pat on the arm for the boy who will die 
tomorrow. " Now listen, son, 1 tell you it isn’t safe to 
play around with those grisettes.” 

My huts for moral shelter and good cheer behind the 
lines: 

Hallelujah Chorus on the phonograph: “And he shall 
reign forever and ever.” Red-blooded sermons from 
upstanding men in khaki: " Take it from me, fellows, 
there’s no greater asset for the fighting man than the 
Christian religion. Just to know every moment that 
the living Christ is at your side — this world’s greatest 
moral hero.” Hymns, Tipperary, Mademoiselle from 
Armentieres: " Come on you fellows, wake up and get 
a little pep into these songs. Let the Huns hear you 
clear to Berlin” 


262 I, YAHWEH 

The posters, slogans, atrocity stories to waken moral in¬ 
dignation: 

" You're making the world safe for democracy.” 
“ Gott strafe England” “Remember the glory that 
is France ” “ The only true Kultur is in the Germany 
of Kant, Goethe, Schiller and Wagner.” “ Blessed Maid 
of Orleans! She too heard God's voice calling to a holy 
warfare.” “ Now listen, this is straight: A friend of a 
friend of mine saw scores of those poor Belgian chil¬ 
dren in England with their hands cut off.” “ The in¬ 
human Boche.” 

The heartening assurances that I put into the mouths of 
statesmen: 

“ The war to end war/’ “ Open covenants, openly 
arrived at.’’ “ The rights of smaller nations.” “ Peace 
with honor.” “ See this thing through, you Tommies, 
and we'll build you a world fit for heroes.” “ A new 
social order.” 

My task of giving courage in the trenches: 

Zero hour. The crucifix kissed. Frightened eyes 
straining to read a reassuring verse from St. Paul or the 
Psalms in the cold morning between dark and light. 
Cheery letters in the breast pocket of the tunic press¬ 
ing against the heart. “ Listen, Buddy: I heard of a 
guy who was saved by a Bible in his pocket. Stopped 
the bullet dead.” “ Sure; 1 heard it too, only it was a 
crucifix 1 heard.” A last look at the photograph. 
“ Remember, dear heart, I'll be praying for you.” “ A 
thousand shall fall at thy side and ten thousand at thy 
right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee.” “ As the 
mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is 
round about them that fear him.” 

Over the top: 

“ Boys, you'll be going over in a few minutes now, but 


MAD WORLD 


263 

Jesus Christ will go with you” The tot of rum. 
" Gott mit uns” “ Jesu” “Holy Mother of God” 
“ Remember men, and for God's sake don't run in a 
straight line . Get all the cover you can ” 

The strain of No Man’s Land: 

“ O God, let me come through; for Christ's sake let me 
come through” “ Herr Jesus Gott” “ Faith, my chil¬ 
dren, faith” “ I the Lord am with thee and will save 
thee, my son”, . . “ You God dam' Hun, bastard” 
..." God! I got him! ”, . . " Mein Gott! Must I 
leave him there with his face in that Frencher's bow¬ 
els? ” 

“ And the peace of God that passeth all understanding 
shall keep your minds and hearts in the love of 
God. . . " 


Now there was a chaplain that did ever, even beyond his 
fellows, besiege me with prayers for guidance and help. 
And from time to time I followed him on his rounds. For 
though his heart was wrung by the torture that he looked 
upon, yet in a corner of it he cherished a secret happiness. 
The scarcity of priests had for a time made necessary that 
he give spiritual aid to men of all creeds, and remembering 
how Catholic, Protestant and Jew had alike accepted words 
of comfort from him, he cherished a vision of ancient bar¬ 
riers broken down, and a hope that after the peace the other 
faiths might join with his. In this vision and this hope he 
found cause of rejoicing sufficient to sustain him on the field 
of death. 

“ God is good, my son,” he said in default of earthly com¬ 
fort to a dying soldier who lay on a makeshift bed in a barn 
that was now a hospital. 

The man’s clouded eyes looked up. “ Is he? ” And I 


I, YAHWEH 


564 

knew not whether he answered in mockery or with genuine 
desire to be assured. 

But he continued, as breath made him able: “ I know 
you’ve come to get me ready to die like a Christian, chappie. 
Thanks. But I wish you’d answer a question for me. Been 
thinking about it a lot. Why is God so interested in how we 
die? Doesn’t seem to care much about keeping us alive. 
Didn’t do a damn’ thing to head off this war. But now he 
uses you fellows to encourage us poor devils to rip one an¬ 
other’s guts out. No disrespect, chappie, but I’ve been 
wondering. You think God’s sent you to me. But what’s 
he saying through some German parson to the poor kid I 
potted before I got mine a few hours ago? ” 

“ Is it nothing that God gives men fortitude to suffer and 
die for the right? ” the chaplain offered in answer. “ You 
are permitted a glorious, heroic part in a war to end war and 
make the world safe for the free and idealistic nations.” 

“ Before coming across I read some German propaganda 
that told how the fatherland must protect the true spiritual 
liberty that produced Luther, Kant and Hegel, Goethe and 
Schiller, Beethoven, Wagner and Schubert.” 

The parson could but press the man’s hand. “ Letters 
for me to write home? ” he asked in a voice of professional 
cheer. 

The man closed his eyes. “ Wrote last night. Had a feel¬ 
ing this was coming.” 

There was silence while the chaplain held the limp hand 
and offered a prayer. A nurse stopped beside them, 
smoothed the cover, looked up at the chaplain, smiled, 
shook her head and passed on. 

There was a patch of sunlight where she had stood. I 
heard an envelope ripped by an eager hand, the mutter of 
guns far away. 

“ Son, shall I give you the sacrament? ” 


MAD WORLD 


265 

“Sacrament? — I don’t know — yes, if you want. . . . 
But how about a smoke? ” 

The chaplain put a cigarette between the gray lips and 
held a match. 

“ You’re a good scout, chappie. . . . Always count on 
you . . . for a cigarette.” 

He drew with shallow breath, held the smoke, heard 
the tinkle of the wine in the chalice, I think, as the chap¬ 
lain poured it for the holy sacrament. 

“ Never mind, chappie. . . . Let it ride, now. . . . 
Body and blood of the Prince of Peace. . . . Let the Ger¬ 
man kid and me wash each other in our own blood.” 

Only the mold of clay was now on the cot, and I thought 
on the spirit that had briefly dwelt therein. 

The riddle of man’s existence and mine! 

For we know that if our earthly house of this taber¬ 
nacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house 
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,’ ” whispered 
the chaplain, quoting St. Paul. 

And he turned his face from the bed and, seeing me at 
hand, said in tones of deep sorrow: “ Oh my God! I had 
two things to offer a dying man, the holy sacrament and a 
cigarette. He took the cigarette.” 


The unnatural thunder ceased, and stayed was the light¬ 
ning of gunfire. The stars that the armies had been wont 
to loose in the dread night over No Man’s Land arose 
no more. The rivers of blood were stemmed. The for¬ 
ests of white crosses pushed their borders no farther into 
the riven fields. 

Wherefore men lifted their heads and asked, “ Is it 
peace? ” 


$66 I, YAHWEH 

The sea adders came up from the depths and crept to 
their havens. From skies strangely quiet the birds of de¬ 
struction settled to the ground. The monsters that had 
crawled through the land belching fire returned to their 
lairs. 

And men said, “ Aye, it is peace.” 

The generals sat with hands poised over their pin-stud¬ 
ded maps, not knowing whether to grieve or rejoice be¬ 
cause the elements of their newest strategy could not be 
fused and tested in the crucible of battle. The lieuten¬ 
ants unbent their backs and privates dropped in the mud to 
sleep. Gunners rolled under the bellies of their guns to 
get them rest at last. Grisettes resumed their tarnished 
finery and sought the towns by the sea. 

The world said, “ Peace,” and there was laughter again. 

Then the victor nations brought together the van¬ 
quished that they might sit in judgment upon them and 
settle the terms of peace. And I, Yahweh, being party to 
their contention, was courteously bidden to share their 
deliberations. And when the prayer that summoned me 
was ended, I looked on the spokesmen of the many nations 
and, remembering how they had severally claimed aid 
and comfort of me in the strife, I was at first proud exceed¬ 
ingly. But when I reflected how each nation, whether 
victor or vanquished, had claimed me as its especial cham¬ 
pion, I was disquieted. And I thought: “ What hath 
befallen me? These many centuries have I sought to ap¬ 
prove myself the god of all peoples. And now behold! I 
am no longer one god but am become a pantheon of a 
hundred national gods! ” 

And I saw that albeit the delegates bore themselves with 
dignity, holding their heads high to proclaim their nations’ 
honor, they did nevertheless with their feet drag the mud of 
the trenches into the hall of crystal chandeliers where they 


MAD WORLD 


267 

were met. Observing the mud on the floor they waxed 
eloquent over it, saying with tears, “ Is there under the 
face of heaven anything more precious than the mingled 
earth and blood of one’s fatherland — unless it be the blood 
that falls lonely on some foreign soil? ” 

Moved by this pious thought for their dead, the victors 
whispered, “ It is our duty to see that recompense be made 
for their sacrifice.” Whereupon they essayed to divide 
among them the distant possessions of the beaten peoples 
even as of old mine armies had divided their spoil. Yet to 
avoid the appearance they parceled out the territories, 
not to be owned, but to be held in sacred trust. In which 
undertaking they supposed themselves justified by the pro¬ 
posals of a certain statesman of wide sympathies who asked 
that justice be done everywhere and in all things. For he 
had advised: “ Let great and oppressive empires be 
broken up. And in the making of our terms let us render 
peace more secure by having regard to the natural divi¬ 
sions of race and land, giving to peoples of diverse strains 
the soil that is by the dispensations of nature rightfully 
theirs.” 

And it was so done — in part. 

But this plan that intended peace became in after years 
a threat of further strife, inasmuch as nations both great 
and small strode in the pride of their separate nationhood, 
so that though there was a league to promote concord it 
prevailed not over the divisive influence of nations each 
jealous to increase its own strength. 

Moreover, when settlement was still being sought, there 
arose a man who pleaded the cause of the Jew, saying, 
“ It is but right that Yahweh’s ancient people who have 
long been dispossessed of soil and nationhood be granted 
leave to return if they will to Palestine and there build 
them a national home.” 


I, YAHWEH 


*68 

And forasmuch as the Jew had poured out blood equally 
with others and supplied moneys in wartime above many, 
the statesmen were willing to grant consideration to his 
claims — and the conquerors most of all, since the land of 
Palestine had for generations been under the hand of a 
people that had suffered defeat in the war. 

Then the Jews over all the world put new vehemence 
into a cry that they had long sustained — their piteous 
prayer for nationhood. And in Jerusalem, at hours ad¬ 
vertised beforehand in the travel bureaus, the old men 
assembled at the wailing wall to call on earth and heaven 
to succor their dispersed and expatriated brethren. 

Now those that were ordering the world’s affairs were 
moved to pity by the wailing, and when they had cast their 
eyes over their accounts with the Jewish bankers they 
waxed indignant because of the age-long alienation of the 
Holy Land from mine ancient people. And they cried, 
“ By heaven, the Jew shall have justice at last I ” And they 
scowled on the Turk and the Arab who were masters in 
Palestine. 

Whereupon certain rich Jews from here and there, with 
ghetto folk of the southeast parts of Europe in large num¬ 
ber, went into Palestine and made to despoil the Arab and 
those Syrians in whose ancestry were strains that ran back 
to the Canaanites who had been in the land ere Abraham 
had come out of Ur. 

Then, when the Arabs made complaint, a certain Jewish 
scholar spake in the spirit of Joshua: “ History repeats 
itself and inferior races must make way for the better 
equipped and more efficient. If the Arabs find no place 
left for them in Palestine, that is not our affair. Let them 
migrate to Iraq; there is plenty of room for them there. If 
they attempt violence, we ourselves shall be armed; many 
of our young immigrants have served as conscripts in the 


MAD WORLD 269 

war, and at our back we shall always have the support of 
British troops and planes.” 

For the victors had entrusted Palestine to the British, 
because these boasted always of their just guardianship 
over weak peoples. 

And when one spake of the expense that might be in* 
volved did a small minority of Jews seek to dominate the 
various peoples of the Holy Land, the scholar did wink 
and answer, “ I am informed by a high official that Great 
Britain gets more out of Palestine than she puts into it.” 

By these and other methods not unlike them was peace 
brought to the world. 

As for me, I recoiled when my first people bespake my 
support for their new nationhood. For said I, “ I am now 
a universal god, yea, and have become such at the behest 
of the Hebrew prophets and the great Jew of Galilee. It 
was the vision of another Jew which took me out of Pales¬ 
tine into the gentile world to become god of all. I cannot 
return to be god of the tribe again.” 

And such of the Jews as were nationally minded and de¬ 
sirous of perpetuating their religion as a cult of race — for 
not all had drunk of that cup — answered me, saying: 
“ By men of our blood was worship first given you. Your 
earliest home and altar were on our soil. You cannot but 
espouse our nation. For we have a separate and peculiar 
culture that once you promoted and which we must cause 
to flourish anew.” 

And therefore they omitted not to wail daily with their 
foreheads against the wall, what time they did not push 
against Arab and Syrian. 


Peace having now come among the nations, the leaders 
of my Christian hosts desired to undo the unhappy con- 


270 I, YAHWEH 

sequences which had ensued upon my participation in the 
bloody strife of the nations. For a full score of years their 
prayers and counsels assailed mine ear, but in such confu¬ 
sion that I knew not how to answer. 

“ O Lord, why dost thou keep us waiting so long? The 
fighting is over. We don’t know what to make of this de¬ 
lay. Thou hast never failed to give us a religious awak¬ 
ening after a war, and we’ve counted on a revival that 
would sweep the world after this one; it was so big and 
terrible. 

“ And we’ve done our part. See! We have enlarged and 
modernized our churches, we have built magnificent par¬ 
ish houses, we have increased our staffs. It is for thee to 
soften the hearts of the people. The world is drawing 
further and further away from religion every day.” 

[“Now don't be an alarmist. This is really the 
most spiritual age in all history. Religious books were 
never before so numerous or so widely read. Even 
the popular magazines carry articles by leading clergy¬ 
men."] 

[“ Yesj 1 know about those books. The popular 
divines get attention by compromising with the mod¬ 
ern spirit. And no matter what they read, people 
don't come to church.''] 

“ O Lord, save the church, the ancient bulwark of thy 
holy truth. While thou dost tarry materialism runs away 
with the world.” 

[“ Hold on, brethren, don't talk such nonsense to 
the Lord. The church isn't running down. Haven't 
you heard about the gains which the Methodists — or 
was it the Baptistsf — made last year? "] 

[“But you can't argue anything from statistics. 
The victorious note is lost or being lost to all of us. 
And if the Methodists or Baptists can show an in¬ 
crease, it's nothing to the total that has been lost.''] 


MAD WORLD 2 *] \ 

“ Yes, Lord, we admit with shame and sorrow that the 
churches are slipping into the abyss. We have heavy debts 
on our new plants. It’s getting harder every year to meet 
our budgets; and the staffs have to be paid. People are 
holding tight to their pocketbooks, and if — ” 

[“ Look here, now; you're taking this whole mat¬ 
ter too hard. What's a little debt to get excited about? 
At least you ought to be ashamed to drag money into 
your prayers so much. There are practical methods 
available for any live, determined church. Have you 
heard of the King's Treasury Corporation? They do 
a wonderful job with their modern methods of budget¬ 
raising and mortgage-lifting. A go-getter type of busi¬ 
nessmen and strictly honorable. You ought to look 
into their proposition. And there are any number 
of high-class commercial enterprises that give the 
women's societies opportunities to raise money."] 

“ We’re in debt, we say, Lord. And that is not the 
worst. We are losing our young people. We wouldn’t 
regret the dollars if something could be accomplished with 
youth. Look at our children and have mercy on us. They 
are as hard as nails. They scorn to enter the beautiful 
buildings that we have erected especially for their use. 
Lord, you must do something about them.” 

[“ For heaven's sake, you mossbacks; will you let up 
on the young people? We find them delightfully 
frank, brave and refreshing. They're really much 
better than we were at their age. — Only, perhaps, 
they don't behave quite so well. Possibly they drink 
too much, and they say shocking things. But we ad¬ 
mit we like to hear them. What do you suppose they 
talk about when they're alone? "] 

[" God knows."] 

“ Lord, we can’t share the criminal optimism of these 
easygoing people. We confess our youth worry us. We 


*72 I, YAHWEH 

want them safe from the world for their own sakes, and 
of course it would be more comfortable for us. Remember 
thy promise, ‘ I will turn the hearts of the fathers to their 
children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.’ 
We ask thee to make that promise good. We love our 
sons and daughters and are disquieted about their souls. 
Therefore, send us a renewal of spiritual interest, we hum¬ 
bly pray. There is still a little idealism and unspent emo¬ 
tion left over from the war. Why dost thou not capitalize 
these? There’s not enough for an oldtime flood of the 
spirit; but if we could have just a little freshening! Any¬ 
thing to break this spiritual drought. Send us some kind 
of revival before it’s too late.” 

[“ We've had the most wonderful afternoon at our 
bridge club. I've been thinking. Do you suppose if 
the church had a little more social life we could get 
hold of some new families? A bridge — ”] 

[“ Yes, and dancing, too. If we'd give a bridge and 
a dance once in a while in the parish house do you 
think the young — "] 

“ O God, I’ve been a long time in thy service now. I’ll 
soon be getting through. But I hate to lay down the task 
with the world at such loose ends. If thou couldst use me 
even now in my age to make a little impression on this 
generation. . . . I’d like to put my hand on some young 
man’s head, and let the ragged mantle fall on his shoulder 
where it would be made glorious by his youth and strength. 
Who knows but there is a prophet hidden among the stuff 
today, as in the olden time? ” 

[“ Where shall we lay the blame for the mess our 
world is in? Who made a meatblock of Europe? 
Who drained the blood of our brothers down the 
sinks of three continents? Who but the old men and 
the old'men's God that now seek to confine youth in 


MAD WORLD 273 

the prison of their rotten institutions and the hell of 
their fears? "] 

“ God, thou judge of all the earth: We’ll step up before 
thy throne and acknowledge like men that we have done 
wrong. We desire first to clear our consciences by confes¬ 
sion and then to dissociate ourselves forever from the un¬ 
christian wrong of war. We shall never fight again; we 
shall never bless another conflict. . . 

[“ Yes , but some of us will fight if our territory is 
invaded, or a great injustice can be laid at the door of 
a bullying nation. We've got to be prepared for that 
kind of thing."] 

“ — We shall go to prison if necessary in penalty for op¬ 
posing any and all bloodshed between nations. Openly, 
before the world, we confess our sin for going into the last 
war and taking thee with us. We’d like to get this stain 
off thine honor if we can.” 

“ Lord God of nations, known of our fathers; thou who 
didst plant this nation between the seas and hast ever cher¬ 
ished the vine of thy planting, alike in the night of war and 
the pleasant days of peace: Let thy blessing rest upon this 
body of thy servants, chosen by the people and by thee to 
devise wise laws and direct the nation in ways of righteous¬ 
ness, to study the demands of justice and equity in affairs of 
the body politic. We humbly beseech thee to let that 
Spirit which has brought us through many perils to the 
safety of this hour so guide the minds of legislators — ” 

[“ Look here, old man, for God's sake don't insist 
on bringing up that sharecropper issue at this session. 
You'd put Joe on the spot before the whole country. 
And you know party interests demand his return to 
the Senate next term. Dammit, I'll vote for that 
naval appropriation if you'll lay off."] 

[ . . . “ To hell with enactment of an anti-lynching 


*74 


I, YAHWEH 


law. Why, Senator, you can’t parade the nigger on 
the floor of the Senate like you’re doing if you want to 
get anything for your own section.”] 

[ . . . “ Child labor be damned. You’ll put a drag 
on every spindle in the South if you push that bill 
through.”] 

[ . . . “All right, Senator, I’ll trade. You quit 
pushing that mine investigation and I will lay off on 
child labor.”] 

“ — and faithfully to perform their duties in accordance 
with thy righteous will. And thine shall be the glory 
among the nations. Amen.” 


So did my people in one great land pray and think and 
do. Nor was the inner confusion of the churches made 
less by the noise of confusion without. 

For many spake after this fashion: “ Listen, old man, I 
tell you the Christian religion is all washed up. God 
Almighty is out on his feet. He hasn’t an ounce of come¬ 
back in him. You church folks had better face the fact 
that you can’t put your medieval superstitions across on 
this modern world.” 

Especially did youth in their places of learning show 
contempt of me. Ah! Youth much more than others: 

“ Look here, old feller, we both took required Bible 
last year. I know and you do too, that your god is Yahweh, 
the tribal deity of the Hebrews. We know his history. He 
was idealized by the prophets, who had some pretty high 
notions of what a god should be, but all the time he was 
simply the personification of the crude ideas of divinity 
held by the Hebrew people. The prophets were always 


MAD WORLD 


275 

away ahead of the common herd, but it was the herd that 
fixed the character of Yahweh, and it’s the herd conception 
that has stuck with most of those who worship him. He’s 
never been anything more than a man-made image, and 
a pretty questionable customer at that. Because of this 
you can bank on his being on the wrong side of every ethi¬ 
cal and social question. He always has been except when 
one of the great prophets was keeping him in line. 

“ Does he care anything about the injustices of our eco¬ 
nomic order? Does it make any difference to him that the 
workers of the world who create the wealth are condemned 
by the system to pass their lives several miles below the 
level of decent subsistence? Does he know what they 
suffer through fear of sickness and unemployment and an 
old age without savings? Mass production may take all 
the pride of workmanship and the joy of creation from 
those whose skill has been their boast, but it leaves him 
cold. He doesn’t notice how the machine is displacing men, 
throwing them into breadlines, while it piles up profits that 
the owners can’t find ways to spend. He listens to the big 
shots when they pray, ‘ Thy kingdom come,’ and then 
okays their plans for putting something over on the work¬ 
ers.” 

Now and again would one come to my defense in this 
wise: “ You fellows have the wrong slant on this. The 
trouble is not with Christianity. As I heard a preacher 
say, it’s never really been tried out.” 

Whereto would come an answer somewhat of this fash¬ 
ion: “ Chance, hell! It had plenty of chances. Jesus, 
whom you’re so proud of — and rightfully, I admit — 
gave it a chance; so did St. Francis. It had a whale of a 
chance to go in the right direction in Luther’s day, but 
the great reformer muffed it. Karl Marx could have given 


2j6 I, YAHWEH 

God a few pointers, but God sidestepped him. No! What 
Christianity lacks is not chances, but guts. 

“ The race has been a good many thousands of years 
struggling up out of the slime, the jungle and the half¬ 
civilizations, fighting for a chance at the good life which 
the wealth of earth and the genius of mankind warrant its 
asking. Now it’s going to cash in, in spite of all this hocus- 
pocus about another world where everything will be made 
up to the poor boobs who have let themselves be cajoled 
and browbeaten out of their rights in this one.” 

Youth! Its denunciations of me struck home like the 
chastisements of my major prophets. 


Yet were there those in the churches who sought a way 
out of this confusion and division among my people, urg¬ 
ing the achieving of some form of unity. Certain leaders 
of irenic spirit said that the divisions in the church must 
be healed before mankind could be delivered from those 
class and race hatreds which devastate society. And they 
said, “ How can there be brotherhood among men and 
how can the gospel heal the wounds caused by social in¬ 
justice when the church which is the bearer of the gospel 
is itself divided! ” And they committed themselves fur¬ 
ther: “ As God is one, so must the church be one. A united 
testimony of the whole church is imperative.’ , 

Then thought I: “ Perchance the Galilean, whose body 
the church is, walks the earth again and speaks through 
these his servants. The spirit of concord and power that 
moved his disciples in the upper room and that urged Paul 
to persuade me to undertake universal domain broods, 
mayhap, once more over the hearts of men.” 

And lo, there came a mighty surge of prayer from 


MAD WORLD ^77 

Lausanne in Switzerland, where near to four hundred chief 
men of the principal faiths were gathered — only Rome 
stood aloof. But, hastening to answer it, I beheld in the 
midst of each delegation one seat left empty. Wherefore, 
liking it not that so many should have delayed their com¬ 
ing, as if this had been some secular gathering, I questioned 
why those for whom these seats were set apart had not ap¬ 
peared in time for the prayer. And the man of whom I 
had made inquiry whispered: “ I know not about the 
other delegations but the vacant chair in our own group 
is for God. Though he is the guest of the whole confer¬ 
ence, he will of course sit here with our party.” 

Wherefore, fearing lest I offend, or too greatly encour¬ 
age, by choosing this seat or that of those that had been 
reserved for me, I betook me to stand against the wall and 
be what is latterly called an unofficial observer. 

Then the men opened their hymnbooks and suited the 
words of four languages to the music of the universal songs 
of Christian faith and triumph. As these rang through the 
hall I perceived that the hearts of the delegates beat quick, 
for their faces flushed and a mist gathered in every eye. 
And I saw that some groped for the hands of strangers, 
owning them brothers in Christ. 

But the hope and pleasure that I took of the singing 
were shattered by the sequel. For those assembled next 
lent their minds not to problems of the world’s need, 
which might have further united them, but rather to mat¬ 
ters of creed and order. These, being the cause of their 
division, offered no hope of reconciliation, especially since 
many had come minded to win others to their doctrines and 
practices rather than to be persuaded toward undertaking 
a common task. 

I looked on my servants, some wearing vestments which 
bespake how close stood their wearers to worldly power, 


I, YAHWEH 


278 

some clad quite simply as testimony of their nearness to 
the poor and humble; and I thought how mightily they 
could move the world did they advance as one body. 
“ Despite all vacillations, this common movement must 
surely reach its goal,” I thought. 

Yet at this moment one of the humbler men of the 
conference arose and, with a conviction that made him elo¬ 
quent, made proposal that at the end of their deliberations 
all should celebrate the Lord’s Supper as members of the 
one family of God. Alas! I beheld that they who wore 
the rich robes drew together and with grave faces whis¬ 
pered among themselves. Whereafter they said in tones 
of tender courtesy that hid not the finality of their decision: 
“ There are ways divinely appointed, brethren, whereby 
the holy mysteries and the comforts of the body of Christ 
are mediated to the souls of men. And we, by the laying 
on of hands, have received grace to minister in accordance 
with these ways. Wherefore we may not partake with 
them that have not been consecrated in the true succession 
by the imposition of hands.” 

Then I thought on Aaron who had stood weaving his 
fingers above the chest on the day when Moses would have 
led the host forward, and of his words, “ There be courte¬ 
sies toward the god, my brother, which only I know how 
to perform.” 

And I said: “ Nay! The kingdom of heaven is no more 
a reality within the church in times of peace than it is 
among nations at war. All the sects, from Rome to the 
Holy Jumpers, make but a loose confederation of tribes 
that severally claim me their titular god. Their instinct 
to prevail over one another is stronger than their purpose 
to combat evil and injustice or to mitigate the world’s 
misery.” 

Furthermore, the world, on whose sin, unbelief and 


MAD WORLD 


*79 

trouble they had intended a united assault, cared not nor 
even knew whether these men had met with their God in 
Lausanne. 


More grievous than the enmity between nation and na¬ 
tion or the rift between sect and sect was the estrangement 
of man from man. At the very root of my purpose to be a 
universal god had been love among men. Love it was that 
tutored the prophets and Jesus, Paul also, and the early 
Christians, to proclaim me God of all. And it was the 
spirit of John’s word, “ God is love ” and, “ If a man love 
not his brother whom he hath seen how can he love God 
whom he hath not seen? ” that in the first ran as my herald 
through the pagan world. The love which was exemplified 
by the early followers of the Galilean added substance to 
the herald’s message, so that men forsook the gods who had 
not love and opened their hearts to me. And the common¬ 
alty of their love and joy and peace gave life a significance it 
had never had in the pagan world. 

But now in this latter day I found that few perceived 
how their individual living ought to serve human life as a 
whole. Instead, each man served his class. One class la¬ 
bored and suffered, knew fear of unemployment and want; 
a second lived lightly on this bitter toil; and still another 
stood betwixt dread of being thrust into the class below 
and hope of rising into the cruel freedom of that above. 
The rich said, “ God is on the side of respectability and 
property, the side of law and force by which our goods 
are guaranteed to us, the side of all things which keep 
the world as it is.” And the poor cried, “ If there be a 
God, especially if he be like the carpenter’s God, he must 
be on our side, patiently biding his time to send us de¬ 
liverance.” 


I, YAHWEH 


280 

And few were they who came into my house to break the 
holy sacrament of a shared humanity. 

Sadder still were the divisions within the souls of men. 
For, while in every man was the seed of that longing after 
the right and the good which had first disturbed Abraham 
on the plains of Ur, and me with him — the restlessness, 
also, that cannot be stilled save in achieving of righteous¬ 
ness— there were, nevertheless, a thousand subversive 
stirrings by which men misinterpreted their higher long¬ 
ings. They rushed, as one of them said, “ from movie to 
movie, from cocktail to cocktail, from one brand of ciga¬ 
rette to another, from mistress to mistress and wife to wife, 
from thrill to thrill, and from abnormality to the more 
abnormal.” Furthermore, in their lust for acquisition 
they filled their hands with possessions. Yet their souls 
gained not fulfillment, nor did their bodies gather any com¬ 
fort of life. 

Seeing that this fever which was in the world raged also 
in the church and wasted it, I said: “ There is need of a 
prophet, one who can reveal righteousness, measure man in 
his relationship to it, and envisage the nations as the king¬ 
dom of heaven; a man with a new word, meet for his time 
as the word of Amos was in his time; a leader who can 
direct me in reconciling the peoples of earth one to another 
that I may be God of them all.” 

Wherefore, when any of my servants prayed for a re¬ 
freshing of religion, I would note particularly the terms of 
his praying and would counsel with him if haply he had 
some plan to open a way out of the confusion into which I 
and my people had come. 

Many and strange were the suggestions that they made, 
and new almost beyond belief the paths of spiritual en¬ 
deavor whereby they sought to test the efficacy thereof. 


XIX 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 


^0 god,” began the great evangelist hurriedly, being about 
to enter the door of the arena where, as he explained, he 
nightly battled with Satan for the souls of men. “ O God,” 
he repeated, “ I have not had much chance to talk it over 
with you today. There was that address to the Rotarians at 
noon, the talk to the chamber of commerce at three o’clock, 
and here’s this monster meeting in the tabernacle tonight. 
I just couldn’t grab off the time for prayer. But you know 
me, Lord. You know I’ve kept myself in the pink for this 
great night of the campaign. I’ll carry the fight for you 
from the opening gong until the devil throws the towel 
into the ring. Only give me the pep; give me the old 
knockout punch tonight, Lord. Let me be in there all 
the time, forcing the fight and packing a haymaker in each 
mitt. . . . And when it comes to the offering make the 
tightwads loosen up. I got the best jollier I could find in 
this whole burg to make the appeal, but I’m not sure just 
how good he is. Maybe he’ll fall down on us in the pinch. 
Give him a good line, Lord, give him a good line, and 
don’t let him get stagefright when he sees the crowd in 
front of him.” 

Now albeit this seemed a strange sort of prayer, and not 

281 






I, YAHWEH 


282 

wholly tuned to my comprehension, yet hearkened I, know¬ 
ing him for a preacher on whom multitudes pinned their 
hopes for a great revival of my worship. For he preached 
not in churches, but set up in each city a great building 
and bade all ministers of the gospel close their churches 
and come and sit silent while he preached and held them 
up to ridicule. 

When he had finished praying, I asked him what word 
he had to speak concerning the kingdom. 

Whereupon he opened his eyes and gazed blankly upon 
me, saying: “ I don’t get you, brother. What kingdom? 
The kings have all been knocked off. We just got through 
saving the world for democracy. There’s no more room 
for kings and kingdoms. The whole world is going to 
be like the good old U. S. A.” 

And when I explained that I meant only the kingdom of 
brotherly love, he answered not but questioned and ad¬ 
monished me thus: “ Say, what are you? A new kind of 
evangelist? If you are, let me tell you you’ll never break 
into the big time with a line of talk like you’ve got. If 
you want to click in this game of mine you’ve got to spill 
your line in he-man’s language. Like in big league base¬ 
ball, you’ve got to put plenty of stuff on the ball and burn 
’em over the plate fast and dazzling or the hard-boiled guys 
will pound you out of the lot.” 

Then I bade him take no account of my manner of speech 
but himself say what he purposed to do to redeem the 
disinherited of the earth and to bring order into the social 
chaos. And he made answer: “ O, the disinherited, eh? 
So you’re one of these bolsheviks? Well, let me tell you 
I’m not interested in their brand of tripe. Not at all. 
Neither is God Almighty. We deal with the soul, both 
of us. What you’re spouting about don’t come into the 
proper field of religion.” 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 283 

When I asked what, then, constituted the message that 
the multitudes flocked to hear, he answered, “ The sal¬ 
vation of God.” And honoring my request for an expla¬ 
nation, he went on: “ Why as I see it, buddy, God’s a 
regular fellow, a hundred per cent he-man. His game is 
salvation, the eternal redemption of human souls that are 
stinking rotten with sins of the flesh. Sure, that’s his game 
— just like yours might be automobiles, or schoolteaching, 
or insurance or chiropractic. He pushes the gospel line, 
so to speak. So do I. Salvation’s the goods we carry. Now, 
salvation’s an open and shut proposition. Either a man’s 
got it or he hasn’t. He’s saved or he isn’t. If he’s saved he 
ought to get out and recommend the goods to others. If 
he isn’t, it’s God’s business and mine to sell him salvation, 
as you might say, by high-powered salesmanship with 
plenty of advertising.” 

“ But wouldst thou say that God careth not for the dis¬ 
tress of earth’s humble, who are broken by wars and pinched 
by the greed of profit-takers? ” I asked. 

He held up his hand as if to halt me, and I marked that 
his face was red with indignation. “ Now lay off that 
stuff, brother,” he bade me. “ What are you, one of these 
pacifist mugs who think the war was all wrong? Well, I 
don’t think it was. Get an earful of that. Thank God, 
I’ve got the red blood and patriotism to stand up for my 
country and its flag. And about the rich: I know plenty 
of rich men who are regular fellows, like God is. They’re 
always ready to come across with the heavy sugar when 
I’ve got a campaign on. I can count on them. I tell you, 
they’re God’s gentlemen. Their hearts bleed for the down- 
and-outs who’ve made bums of themselves. The rich have 
more honest-to-God democracy than any other bunch in 
the world. Lots of times I get a lot more cooperation out 
of the big financiers and the chamber of commerce fellows 


284 I, YAHWEH 

than I can wring out of these soft mutts of preachers. The 
hardheaded men of business know how I can straighten out 
the bums, put down labor discontent, whip the soreheads 
into line, and fill a city with the peace of Christ. Lay off 
the rich, I tell you. Get after the drunkards and bawdy 
women and red agitators if you want to do God Almighty’s 
work. You’re barking up the wrong tree, buddy.” 

“ But in reaching out after men’s souls should one leave 
untouched the conditions that breed sin and violence? The 
social order, I am told — ” 

“ Listen, pal,” he interrupted, “ I got to spend a little 
time with the Lord before the meeting. I can’t give you 
any more attention now. But I’ll say just this: you’ve 
got yourself all snarled up in the tanglefoot. This social 
stuff is the bunk. It’s an attempt to sidestep true spiritual 
religion. Both sin and salvation are purely individual 
matters. Don’t kid yourself that you can hide behind the 
skirts of poverty or excuse your sins by yammering about 
the abuses of society. Any man, wherever or however 
he’s born and raised, can get religion if he really wants 
it. It’s as free as air. 

“ Now, come clean, buddy. If you’ve got a problem 
of drink or gambling or women, all you’ve got to do is to 
swallow your pride, come to one of my meetings, walk 
up and shake my hand like a man, then put your shinbones 
down in humility in the sawdust. That’s all there is to 
it. God Almighty will save you then and there. Get the 
vice right out of your system for you — and the bolshe¬ 
vism, too. God’s a hundred per cent on the level. What 
I mean, if anybody’s a hundred per cent for God, why 
God’s a hundred per cent for him. Once make the sur¬ 
render and you’ll never be troubled again. That’s the 
old-fashioned gospel of salvation, without any frills. It’s 
worked for nineteen hundred years, and, bless God, it 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 285 

works today. It’s the only hope of cleaning up this world 
and keeping it a safe place, free from crime and discontent. 

“ Now, you come here shooting off your mouth about the 
social order like you was cuckoo or had a bun on. My ad¬ 
vice is for you to go home and chew this thing over for a 
while. You’re not in any condition for me to invite you 
in to the meeting. I don’t want any fanatics standing up 
and blowing off steam about this bolshevism just when 
I’ve got the crowd eating out of my hand. Go home, buddy, 
and think it over. I’ve given you the lowdown on religion. 
All you need to do is lap it up and digest it. And if you’re 
on the level, you’ll see the sense of what I’m telling you. 

“ And just one thing more: if you do take a tumble to 
yourself and find God and then think the good people of 
your burg would like to have me come and put on a cam¬ 
paign along the lines I’ve been telling you, you can write 
to me. I’ve got an open month next spring. Or better yet, 
you talk it up with the big shots in the business life of the 
place and let them write. Maybe we can get together for 
a date. Then you’ll have plenty of chance to see what I’m 
doing for the world. Like you asked.” 

And having bowed his head yet again, he entered the 
tabernacle. 


I was called by prayer to a place where the board of a 
great church was assembled to take counsel on the case 
of a young minister who, in speaking in the pastor’s ab¬ 
sence, had uttered certain things of a nature described by 
them as “ radical.” 

The chairman, bluff but cheery, began by taking an 
envelope from his pocket and giving a sign that it be 
passed down the line to his pastor. 


2 86 I, YAHWEH 

“ Before I forget it,” he said, explaining his action, “ just 
a slight contribution toward the fund for that debt on 
the parish house, which I know is worrying you, doctor.” 

Whereupon he leaned back and hooked his thumbs in 
the pockets of his waistcoat, saying: “ We all know the 
purpose for which this special meeting was called. We 
must have an explanation from the pastor’s assistant, 
Mr. — ” 

He looked down the table. A full voice from the far 
end supplied the name, “ Justice.” 

The chairman’s face showed that he liked not the name. 
“ We may as well get right down to business,” he said 
abruptly. “ The matter before the meeting is this young 
man’s sermons while the pastor was on vacation. He of¬ 
fended no end of our people by his preaching of wild social 
theories. Not a gospel sermon in the lot.” 

“ Let’s be concrete,” interrupted the accused assistant. 
“ ‘ Social theories ’ is too general. I’ll state the case for 
you. I preached about the strike that involved a good 
many plants in this city, yours among them. I admit the 
pointedness of my preaching, but submit that it was called 
for. Conditions were intolerable for the workers. The 
owners were selfish and unjust. Where could I find a 
better subject for sermons? ” 

Whereto one of their number who was a stockbroker 
answered dryly: “Well, being a preacher, and presum¬ 
ably a Christian, you might have tried the Bible instead 
of the picket line. We had a bright young man in the 
doctor’s place a year ago who managed to preach good, 
sound, interesting sermons all summer long on the Ten 
Commandments. What’s the matter with them as texts, 
I want to know? ” 

And a man of no business but much invested capital 
sat forward in his chair and put in, “ I remember a most 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 287 

entertaining series that the doctor preached a few years 
ago on the stars.” But none paid him any heed. 

The accused made a show of writing on his cuff. “ The 
Ten Commandments. That’s a thought. I’ll remember 
and use them another time. There’s lots of dynamite in the 
old law. Text: ‘ Thou shalt not kill.’ Development: 
Point one — don’t use a gun or an axe on your neighbor. 
Point two — there are, brethren, ways of killing more 
subtle, more cruel, (a) Paying starvation wages and forc¬ 
ing men to bring up their families below the poverty line. 
Illustrations: Malnutrition, rickety kids, predisposition to 
tuberculosis. Cite cases encountered in this city, this parish, 
(b) Shortening life and killing all its sweetness by forcing 
a man onto the breadline at fifty when there’s no hope of 
his getting another job, though he’s just as good a workman 
as ever. Plenty of illustrations at hand, (c) Fighting sick¬ 
ness and unemployment insurance, thereby making it im¬ 
perative for men with the burden of families on their 
shoulders to work and take dangerous chances when they 
are seriously ill. 

“ Another sermon. Text: ‘ Thou shalt not steal.’ De¬ 
velopment: Point one — thou shalt not take thy neighbor’s 
pocketbook. Thou shalt not hold up a bank. Obvious, 
but a good starting place. Point two — thou shalt not 
rob the workman of the fruits of his labors. Not so ob¬ 
vious, of course, but much more pertinent in our present 
situation — ” 

The chairman’s face had reddened. No one in that 
room was at ease; I less than all. Then I reflected that 
the prophets had always held back the message of comfort 
until by their unsparing indignation they had quickened 
the consciences of their hearers. So reasoning, I found 
myself wondering whether this graceless youth might be 
he whom I sought. But I bided my time. 


I, YAHWEH 


288 

And in that moment I heard a banker say, “ It has always 
seemed to me that preaching ought to deal directly, I 
might say exclusively, with the inner life — with a man’s 
personal conflicts and discouragements.” 

He turned full on the young man. “ Look here, my 
boy,” he said as father speaking to child, “ just where do 
you expect to get by following this line? ” 

The young minister was thoughtful and after a moment 
answered: “ Well, I’m not wholly sure, gentlemen. You 
can hardly expect anyone to see a perfectly clear way out 
of the mess we’re in. But I know that when Abraham came 
out of Ur religion was on the move. In the time of the 
prophets it was going places. When Jesus was on earth 
he had an idea of getting along toward a kingdom of God. 
But now we don’t seem to have any particular objective 
beyond building our plants and lengthening our mem¬ 
bership and subscription lists. We’re not going any place. 
I’m just trying to help get religion on the move. I keep 
thinking that if I were in God’s place I’d junk this Christi¬ 
anity and look around for something that had life — that 
was moving in some — ” 

“ Oh, my God! ” cried the manufacturer. “ Here we 
are in the biggest, richest, most powerful country on the 
face of the globe — God’s country if there ever was one — 
with the finest churches, the highest paid ministers, the 
busiest programs. And you ask us to go places! Why, you 
young fool, we don’t have to go places. There ain’t any 
place to go. We’re there already.” 


Now, the fame of a woman evangelist began to be noised 
abroad, and, albeit Paul had forbidden women to speak 
in the church, I remembered that Deborah and Anna and 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 289 

others had been prophetesses; and I said, “ It may be that 
this woman can speak the guiding word.” 

And I found her comely and with much vitality. 

“ Lord, I’m doing all this for you. Honest, I am. I don’t 
give a thought to myself. I just pour out my strength night 
after night to magnify your name and save people’s souls. 
So why don’t you keep me from feeling so flat every now and 
then, and from having these spells at other times when I 
feel like I would have to bust everything wide open? ” 

I could not ignore this prayer. “ Daughter,” I said, 
“ after a moment shall I attend to the personal matter that 
concemeth thee; but first tell me something of this work 
thou hast in hand. What dost thou for the advancement 
of the kingdom? Seest thou a goal near or far toward which 
religion should move? ” 

She was surprised to find me at her side, but not dis¬ 
comfited, being well used to have people come and go. 
“ Say, I don’t know you, do I? ” she asked. “ Well, never 
mind. That’s all right. You’re somebody to talk to, any¬ 
way. Oh, you asked me what I’m doing for the kingdom, 
didn’t you? Well, I’m crowding the folks in, brother, I’m 
crowding them in.” 

She made a wide, graceful movement of her arms as 
though she drew someone to her bosom. “ My manager 
often says as a kind of joke that the Almighty will have to 
lay out a whole new suburb in the heavenly city just to 
take care of the folks I’m sending him. Between you and 
me, I think there’s a lot of God’s truth in that little joke. 
I suppose you’ve been to the Garden to see my gospel spec¬ 
tacle and hear me preach? We had a great house last 
night.” 

Then her face fell and in her voice sounded a note of 
childish complaint. “ Not so many as we had in New 
York, though. But my advance agent said when I had him 


I, YAHWEH 


2 go 

on the carpet that I ought not to let that worry me. It’s on 
account of this not being as big a place as New York, but 
practically out in the sticks, and people not being used to 
having the real headliners come here. But I guess we’ll be 
packing them in before we leave. We’ll have to. There’s 
all the expense of carting the scenery and props wherever 
we go. The Garden costs a lot, too, and the collections 
haven’t been so good, either. I told the Garden manage¬ 
ment that they ought to make a big reduction in my case 
on account of this being a religious company and strictly 
on the level, and only interested in saving men’s souls for 
the kingdom of heaven, like you said. But they just laughed 
it off. I wonder what makes people so doggone stingy? ” 

“ Understand me,” I corrected her, “ I spake not of a 
kingdom in the heavens, but of a kingdom of brotherly 
love on earth. What dost thou do to bring the reign of 
justice and righteousness on earth and to better the lot 
of the poor, the humble and the downtrodden? Hast thou 
that which might guide Christianity in its work among 
men? ” 

“ Now, that’s right down my alley,” she answered. “ If 
there’s anything under God’s heaven that gets to me it’s 
the condition of the poor. And you want to know what I’m 
doing for them? Well, brother. I’m giving them the thrill 
of their lives in the greatest show on earth, absolutely 
clean, purely religious, of course, and based on the ever¬ 
lasting gospel, but full of red-hot showmanship just the 
same. Now what the poor want, as I see it, is a good kick 
that will make them forget their troubles. They are hungry 
for a little light and color in their monotonous lives. That’s 
what I’m trying to give them. I’ve taken a leaf out of 
Hollywood’s book. Now tell me, who is it that the aver¬ 
age person falls for hardest? Is it the preacher, the politi¬ 
cian, the big businessman? No. It’s the movie queens, 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 2 gi 

isn’t it? They’ve got the color and glamour and romance 
and pep that people just cry for. Well then, I feel that if 
I’ve got my share of ‘it’ I ought to use my gift in a purely 
spiritual way for the glory of God, like I’m doing. And I 
know absolutely that I’ve got the looks and the talent and 
the appeal to put myself over just as well as any of the movie 
stars.” 

“ But, having won the acclaim of the multitude, in what 
manner dost thou purpose to meet the world’s needs? ” I 
inquired of her. 

She took an attitude of much grace and lowered her 
gaze. After a moment she looked up at me from under 
her lids and said: “ Brother, you look old and experienced 
enough for me to speak plain to you. What the world 
needs, of course, is simon-pure religion, the joyful message 
of salvation from sin. I guess I don’t need to explain to 
you what I mean by that word ‘ sin.’ Now, I’m working 
like a trooper against sin all the time. But I’m not trying 
to put over the same old cut and dried methods that have 
been used for goodness knows how long. I’ve got a new 
slant on the whole religious game. I’ve got my own en¬ 
tirely original specialty that leaves the baldheaded preacher 
out of the running. I’m offering the starving multitudes 
God’s true religion wrapped up in sex appeal. 

“ And does it work? You ask me. It’s something that 
goes right to the heart of every loveless old maid and dis¬ 
appointed married woman who’s got tired of watching the 
dishes pile up in the kitchen sink and hasn’t had a new 
emotional thrill since her wedding finished the romance 
of life. When they come to my meetings they imagine 
they see themselves in me, my looks, my gowns, my smash¬ 
ing personality. They just hand their hearts over to me, 
poor yearning things, and before they know it I’ve intro¬ 
duced them to God. And the old bachelors who’ve never 


I, YAHWEH 


292 

been loved, and the poor married men who’ve lost the 
romantic fizz out of life and whose wives probably don’t 
understand them! They get my appeal, too, God bless 
them. For a couple of hours they forget the hall bedroom 
or the untidy parlor and the monotonous jobs they’ve got 
to go to the next day. They swallow me, bait, line and 
sinker, and before they know what’s happened to them 
I’ve got them hooked for God. You ought to have seen 
the crowd last night when I came on dressed like a Greek 
goddess, with four trombones from the symphony orches¬ 
tra blowing me in like a prima donna. Did that bunch 
fall for me and surrender themselves into my hand so I 
could lift them up as a precious offering to God? Well, 
you ask me, brother. 

“ But don’t think it’s all just the colorful show with 
me. My first thought is always for sinful souls that stand 
in danger of eternal destruction, and before I’m through 
at any meeting I get right down to business and give them 
the straight gospel, salvation from sin, the hope of ever¬ 
lasting reward in heaven with a glory brighter than Broad¬ 
way, more beautiful than a Hollywood set — endless joy, 
endless peace, endless love. I just roll it over them in great 
big waves and they wallow in it like the children of Israel 
in the Red sea.” 

“ But hast thou also a message suited to youth and its 
impatience with things as they are? What tasks worthy of 
their powers dost thou set before the young? ” I asked. 
“ What project for the building of a better world? ” 

A cloud settled on her brow. “ Brother,” she said, “ I 
may as well admit it. The young crowd has got me stymied. 
And the sad part of it and what seems to me awfully unfair 
is that I really like the young folks. Honest, I’m just 
nuts about them. Why, when I first started out I used 
to picture myself with the college boys eating out of 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 293 

my hand — like one of the biggest movie stars when she 
makes a personal appearance. But ” — tears wet her eyes 
and her voice was sad — “I have a hunch that they’re 
giving me the raspberry most of the time in spite of my 
appeal. I’m being driven to the conclusion that religion 
isn’t the kind of thing that gets hold of the young. I guess 
it just naturally doesn’t interest people until the world 
goes flat and stale on them. Now I wouldn’t admit that 
to everybody, brother, but somehow you seem to have got¬ 
ten under my skin.” 

“ Art certain,” I asked gently, “ that there is justification 
for the manners and forms by which thou dost open up the 
hearts of men to God? ” 

“ Well, if there isn’t you can’t blame me. You’ll have 
to lay that on God’s doorstep. He created us male and fe¬ 
male, didn’t he? He made me a knockout, didn’t he? ” 
Her voice was now slightly querulous. “ Besides, look 
what a success Hollywood makes of sex appeal. Why 
shouldn’t religion cash in on the same thing? ” 

“ Dost thou hope that thou mayest thereby help to build 
a new world founded on justice and brotherhood? ” I 
asked. 

“ You can search me, brother,” she answered with a 
shrug. “ I’ve never thought about that. My job is to 
jack people up so they’ll be able to bear as Christian men 
and women what God sends them in the kind of world 
we’ve got.” 

And I continued my search for a prophet. 


The minister paced the central aisle of his new church, 
calling upon God to behold the beauty of the work. When 
I joined him, he began at once to point out those things 


I, YAHWEH 


294 

in which he took particular pride. “ Have you ever been 
in Chartres? ” he asked. “Yes? Well, by George, you 
will observe that the general impression one gets here is 
remarkably the same. We’re not so elaborate, of course, 
but the spirit of the medieval cathedral is here, and with 
greater effectiveness, perhaps, because of our compactness 
and simplicity. Look at the glass in that rose window. 
Isn’t it a perfect imitation of the Chartres blue? And you 
will note, if you are acquainted with medieval glass, that 
the window in the north transept is designed after the 
manner of the Tree of Jesse window. And see the wood 
in these choir stalls. One would swear, judging by its silky 
patina, that it had been aged for centuries. But it’s new 
wood made to look antique by a clever process. Purely 
chemical.” 

He turned and faced the chancel. 

“ I venture to say you’d take the altar and the cross to 
be five hundred years old. Wouldn’t you, now? Well, 
they’re not. They were made last year in the atelier of 
a famous French craftsman. But they’re genuine Caen 
stone, both of them. Cost a sizable fortune — the gift 
of one of our most prominent and devoted members.” 

He turned about and walked toward the narthex. 

“ I think the grace, the effortless spring, of those pillars 
down the aisle is one of the most remarkable features of 
the whole building. Would anybody suspect the stone 
of being a mere casing over structural steel? The soar¬ 
ing line of the Gothic is faultlessly simulated. Modern 
methods of building can get these effects much more di¬ 
rectly than could the cumbersome, circuitous methods of 
the past. By George! there’s life in those pillars and the 
vaulting above. Yes, we’re much smaller, but I flatter my¬ 
self we’ve caught the essential spirit of Chartres.” 

“ The appearance, perhaps,” I granted him, albeit his 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 595 

complaisance irked me. “ But to know the spirit would 
require that thou hadst known a medieval cathedral while 
it was building. Thou shouldst have seen the people of a 
town drawing the stone from the quarries, themselves roped 
to tumbrils and sledges, and the towers rising stone by 
stone until they seemed in a particular sense to touch the 
sky. Thou shouldst have been in Chartres when the 
glassmaker — ” 

The minister broke in on my speech: “ Excuse me for 
one moment, friend,” and departed to say to one who had 
entered the narthex: “ You won’t mind, will you, if I 
leave you to wander around for a few minutes by your¬ 
self? But don’t go until I see you. There are some special 
features that I want to point out and explain. I’ve got 
the queerest old customer in there with me now. Talks as 
though he were present when they built Chartres cathedral. 
I’ll not let him keep me long.” 

Whereupon he came back to me, saying: “ You see, 
as I have already suggested, the controlling idea here is 
beauty — the ‘ beauty of holiness,’ one might say. What 
a world this would be if people would just soak their souls 
in beauty! Why, when you stop to analyze it, religion 
itself is the cult of the ethically beautiful, and its supreme 
act the soul of man adoring the beauty of God. The 
problem is first to create surroundings that will lift man 
away from the world and then to formulate a ritual that 
will clothe his spirit in a mood that answers to the per¬ 
fection of the Absolute.” 

But even as I contemplated this program whereby a 
man while yet living should for an hour a week be lifted 
into heaven, he continued: “Now the old plant had none 
of the externals that create the mood. A great bare audi¬ 
torium, ugly pews, hideous glass in the windows, squared 
off and colored like kitchen linoleum, the organ case smack 


I, YAHWEH 


296 

in the middle behind the pulpit, the pulpit itself in the 
exact center of the rostrum. But now see! ” 

Whereupon he mounted the pulpit and, after rubbing 
with his palm over its silky surface, began making gestures 
this way and that, saying: “ Here we have a real chancel, 
with pulpit and lectern, one on either side, as they should 
be. And there, the central object, focal point of the wor¬ 
ship, the communion table or, more properly, the altar. 
I hope to get candles on it as soon as the atmosphere of the 
new church has had time to work on my congregation. You 
know, a candle does things to me. Nothing so gives me 
the summons to worship, so bends my knees before God, 
if you will permit the metaphor, as the pure flame of a 
candle burning on the altar in the softly colored twilight 
of a church. My wife says I’m a born mystic. Perhaps 
I am. I’d have incense and everything else if I thought 
the people would stand for it.” 

Now I had it in mind to ask him, when he should 
pause for breath, what bearing he conceived this manner 
of religion to have upon the re-creation of the world in 
righteousness. But there was no need, for he continued: 
“ It is my conviction that the church has made a mistake 
in letting itself be drawn into interests that are outside 
its rightful province — politics, international affairs, mud¬ 
dleheaded social theories. As I see it, religion is one of 
the fine arts — the chief of them. All other branches of 
aesthetics should be made available as her handmaidens. 
The service itself ought to begin somewhere and go some¬ 
where, have a recognizable point of departure and a cli¬ 
mactic point, with moments of relief and repose between. 
Every smallest feature, the prayers, the anthems, the ser¬ 
mon, everything, ought to be prepared and rehearsed as 
carefully as the actor’s part in a secular drama.” 

Whereupon he took a small Bible from a shelf within 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 297 

the pulpit and read with a sonorous voice quite different 
in accent and in tone from that which he used for ordinary 
conversation, then listened, his head inclined to one side, 
as the echo came back hollow from its wanderings in the 
nave. 

“ But to get back to our theme. As I was saying, wor¬ 
ship is a fine art, akin to poetry and the nobler elements 
of the drama. But I’m still mightily interested in the 
sermon. The priestly function hasn’t lessened my sense 
of the importance of the prophetic office.” 

And he descended with stately steps from the pulpit. 

“ You know,” he resumed, “ the sermon as an artistic 
creation seldom gets the attention which it deserves. Now 
I hold that there’s no earthly reason why a preacher should 
not know for himself and give to his people the best that 
has been said in philosophy, drama, general literature and 
poetry — and theology, of course — all the rich elements 
of a rounded culture. ‘ The good, the beautiful, the true.’ 
Ah! You remember Goethe? And Matthew Arnold’s def¬ 
inition of culture? ” 

Whereupon, instead of answering him, I took occasion to 
put mine own question, albeit not in the form that I had 
intended, and I said: “ Thou speakest of beauty as the 
means of bringing men to God. What of those who must 
live their lives in such wise that they find little beauty at 
hand and have not time, nor substance, nor energy to pur¬ 
sue the soul-building elements in which thou dost rejoice? ” 

“ Ah, yes! God’s poor,” he said in a voice unctuous with 
professional compassion. “ I admit that life is hard for 
some folk, nor do I forget them in my supplications. Does 
not religion itself teach that God bears the poor on his 
heart? But you must remember that I have the particular 
and very exacting task of ministering to those whom the 
will of God has entrusted to my care. I can’t feed their 


I, YAHWEH 


* 9 8 

souls on economics. My people do their full share of good 
works. They are the most generous in the city. But they 
simply refuse to have all the problems of society dumped 
into their laps every Sunday. Don’t you realize that a 
man who’s worked hard all the week, carrying burdens more 
crushing than any the poor have to bear, has a right to 
expect that on the sabbath day he may rest from his labors 
and get refreshment and inspiration for his soul? Honestly 
now, isn’t it my plain duty to comfort and soothe tired men 
from my pulpit, so they may go back strengthened for the 
weekly grind in bank and office and on exchange? ” 

“ That would depend in all ways, it would appear to me, 
on whether they have been made tired by the doing of 
the right,” I said. “ If they are set in the pursuit of shal¬ 
low things, and do harm to others because of it, might it 
not be well that they understand what they do in order 
that they might make redress? No credit to a man is it 
if he be worn in a bad cause, and I fear it will be much to 
the detriment of religion if thou dost soothe and refresh 
men so that they may do evil in a larger way with an easy 
conscience.” 

“ I see that you’re bound to draw me into an argument,” 
he said smilingly, “ but I’m just as determined not to be 
drawn. Argument takes a long time, and I have a friend 
waiting.” Then, extending his hand to me, he said, “ It 
has been a pleasure, I assure you, to show my church to 
one who knows his Chartres.” 

It was plain to see, I thought, that the prophet’s mantle 
had not fallen on this man’s shoulders; no, nor on any of 
his kind, of whom there was no lack. 


Now I have never taken great thought concerning the 
matter of dress, albeit there are those who have spoken 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 299 

from the pulpit against this form and against that in my 
behalf. Yet did I upon one occasion receive invitation 
to present myself at a gathering in a fashionable hotel, and 
I knew from the wording of it that I might not appear 
except in a white tie, as the saying goes among men. 

When I entered the lobby, I saw that men and women 
richly appareled moved through it toward the ballroom, 
and as I tarried to observe them, one who sat in a chair 
arose and addressed me, saying, “ Brother, are you a 
Grouper? ” 

Though this expression was new to me, I interpreted 
it as meaning the stream of people, and said I was not of 
their number. 

“ Then for God’s sake, come and sit down and talk to 
me,” he urged, and I complied with his request. 

Whereupon he said: “ I ain’t one of them neither, thank 
God. But my wife, bless her heart, thinks the movement is 
the real society thing. Was crazy to be in on one of their 
house parties, as they call them, and since I’m retired 
I didn’t have any excuse I could work for not coming with 
her. Been here two days now. God! And five more to 
go through. But if any more of these brothers and sisters 
get me into a private conversation and start fishing around 
inside my soul for what they can find I ain’t going to be 
able to stick. My soul’s my own, dammit.” 

Of his remarks I could make nothing. Wherefore I 
attempted to turn the conversation by asking whose party 
it was that he and all the others were attending. 

“ Say, brother, ain’t you in the know on any of this? 
Honest? Why, God Almighty himself is throwing this 
party.” 

Not because I was offended — for in these latter years 
I had accustomed myself to the light use of my name — but 
because I thought him touched in the mind I arose forth¬ 
with to leave. But he restrained me. 


I, YAHWEH 


3 00 

“ Wait a minute, brother,” he pleaded. “ Don’t you 
know about God? ” 

“ I have followed his fortunes closely for many years,” 
I assured him. 

“ But do you know the latest? No? Well, brother ” 
— he dropped his voice, leaned forward, and tapped the 
arm of his chair with his forefinger— “God has made the 
social register. Fact. The Junior League has learned 
that he can wear a tailcoat as well as anybody. Those folks 
going into the ballroom all dressed up ain’t going to a 
dance like you probably think. They’re going to meet 
God. What I mean, that’s a religious meeting in there. 
The idea, as clear as I can get it, is that while God’s always 
around ready to help everybody who gets into a jam, these 
people have discovered that he’s a gentleman at heart, and 
at his very best after six o’clock in the evening, and any¬ 
body who wants to get real chummy with him had better 
climb into a dress suit.” 

He ran a fat finger between his collar and his neck and 
sighed. “ They call their movement after that swell col¬ 
lege over in England.” 

His unhappy eye entreated me. “ I can see you don’t 
believe me, brother. You think I’m nuts. All right; I 
don’t blame you. But look. See that fellow over there 
talking to the hotel manager? Yeah, the stocky guy. He’s 
the big works. When he’s through, go over and ask him. 
Maybe I got this thing wrong. You just go and find out for 
yourself.” 

He took a cigar from his pocket, looked at it, glanced 
toward the ballroom as though uncertain of something, 
looked at the cigar again, then put it into his mouth. He 
heaved himself from the chair and walked rapidly toward 
a door that gave to the terrace. 

Acting on his advice, I approached the man that he had 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 301 

named. “ Tell me,” I said, when he was at liberty, “ what 
thou and the folk here are about.” 

His round face beamed; his spectacles and bald fore¬ 
head glittered. 

“"We are building a new world,” he answered with 
warmth. “ We are going to create a wholly new social 
order modeled after the early church. Our movement is 
literally sweeping the earth. Statesmen, international 
bankers, captains of industry, important people every¬ 
where, the kind of folks you wouldn’t expect to find tak¬ 
ing much of an interest in the things of the soul, are endors¬ 
ing it. Even youth in the colleges, that for so long has 
seemed impervious to religion, is being powerfully drawn 
to the Groups. You should see how they gather for week 
ends on the great country estates in England.” 

My soul rejoiced when I heard this report, and I said, 
“ Tell me by what means thou dost propose to accomplish 
this world-wide society of Christian brethren.” 

He took out a silk handkerchief and mopped his brow. 
“ By sharing.” 

“ Ah! ” I cried, “ it hath the authentic note of mine early 
Christianity, of those days in Jerusalem when all put their 
possessions into a common treasury, and every man drew 
therefrom according to his needs. I had despaired of 
such a plan’s being tried in these modern days inasmuch 
as the world has become so complex, but with the prin¬ 
ciple of equality and the motive of love behind it I 
doubt not that the practical working out will be readily 
accomplished.” 

“ Wait,” cautioned the leader. “ Don’t go off on the 
wrong track like that. When we speak of sharing we are 
not thinking of material things. Our purposes are far 
more noble than that. Materialism is the curse of our 
day, and it would be sad indeed if we could do nothing 


I, YAHWEH 


302 

but split up worldly possessions that are, after all, neg¬ 
ligible when measured against the things of the spirit.” 

And seeing the wary look in his eye that I had come 
to expect during these latter years whenever Christian 
folk were challenged on the point of their possessions, I 
inquired what it was that his people shared if not their 
goods. 

“ Our spiritual experiences, the precious values of the 
inward being,” he explained. “ We share with one an¬ 
other our triumphs and also the knowledge of our sins, 
keeping nothing back through a false sense of shame. That 
is, we are supposed to hold nothing in reserve. But you 
know how reluctant some are to reveal certain weaknesses 
in themselves. So, when we have reason to suspect that 
one is holding something back, it becomes the peculiar 
function of our sharing to dig about in his soul until we 
find the things which he conceals and to bring them out 
into the daylight of our common knowledge. We help 
him to face squarely up to himself, particularly when there 
are unwholesome relations between him and others. Ab¬ 
solute purity is one of our ideals. 

“ You understand, of course,” and he looked at me side- 
wise, “ that things are not always what they should be even 
between a man and his wife in the most intimate matters. 
You get what I mean? It may surprise you to hear it, but we 
often gain new sharers by letting men and women know 
that we are aware of maladjustments in those relationships 
that a false modesty would keep secret. There’s great con¬ 
victing power in absolute frankness. We believe God wants 
us to be our brothers’ keepers and we dare not frustrate his 
purposes.” 

As he so spake a hopeful thought formed itself in my 
mind. 

“ Take out thy pen,” I commanded. 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 303 

He put his hand to his breast, and when it did but slip 
along the glossy bosom of his shirt, took instead a pen that 
lay ready to hand upon a desk. 

I gave him a name and bade him write. He wrote with 
satisfaction. I gave him another and he wrote again. And 
so until he had twelve. 

“ These are pretty big people,” he said at the end. “ Are 
they personal friends of yours who you think may be inter¬ 
ested in the Groups? ” 

“ The first,” I answered, “ doth employ thousands of 
girls who, because of their small return in wages, exist be¬ 
low the level of comfort and decency. The second is a 
maker of munitions. The third has transferred to his own 
pocket the livelihood of widows and orphans. All of them 
profit evilly at the cost of their more helpless fellows. Go 
now and tell them of their sins.” 

“ Come, come,” he objected. “ You don’t mean that. 
You know very well I can’t do such things.” 

44 Why not? ” 

“ Because economic affairs are not our province. Our 
mission is to sinners only.” 

“ These are sinners.” 

“ Well, if they feel moved to bare their hearts to us we 
shall be ready to hear them sympathetically. But it would 
not be in good taste for one gentleman to meddle with 
another gentleman’s business affairs. It would be on a 
par with opening his letters.” 

“ But,” I said, “ thou dost make boast of thine invasion 
of privacy. Thou wilt steal into the bedchamber to spy 
on a man and his wife. Yet thou dost tell me thou canst 
not remonstrate with one who is in wrong relationships 
with many thousands. Furthermore, these relationships 
of which I speak are not private. The whole world is privy 
to them and Christianity doth suffer much scorn for that it 


I, YAHWEH 


3°4 

is silent concerning them. Go now and do as I say if thou 
art in earnest about the matter of building a new social 
order.” 

“ But you don’t understand. The new order will come 
of itself when enough people are Groupers.” 

“Ah! Then thou hast a plan of action for thy Group¬ 
ers? ” I asked. 

He welcomed the change of subject. His face bright¬ 
ened. He took off his spectacles and polished them on his 
ever busy handkerchief. 

The spectacles back on his nose, he spake, and his voice 
was warm and confidential: “ Our plan is simple to the 
point of genius. It is, frankly, to have no plan at all, but 
merely to follow the guidance of God, faithfully and with¬ 
out question. We don’t have to bother about a mass of 
confusing details, in the midst of which the human mind 
must unavoidably go astray. God tells us every minute just 
what he wants us to do next. We take only one step at a 
time as he indicates. If he desires to have anything 
changed in the social order he himself will assume the re¬ 
sponsibility and will move the right men — if they are 
Groupers — to do exactly what should be done. That’s 
why we are so keen on getting the leaders of society to join 
us. They are the key men through whom God will work. 
Our part is to convert, or change them into sharers and 
subjects for guidance. 

“ Do you follow me, brother? One of the beauties of this 
whole movement is that we don’t have to think. God does 
that for us. Every bit of it. Oh, if you could only know 
the spiritual blessedness of being totally free from wor¬ 
ries, the peace that comes to him who, instead of wrestling 
with problems, throws them all before the feet of God.” 

“ Dost thou not show too little respect for the mind of 
man? ” I asked. “ Over many years have I observed that 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 305 

when good is brought to pass it is after men have thought 
and willed and labored. True, I have found a mysterious 
influence at work in the world that seems to come from 
beyond man, but it ever shows itself through men who are 
already arduously striving. The vast and complicated 
order, or disorder, in which this thy civilization exists will, 
I fear, not be set right without thinking and planning on 
the part of serious, unselfish men.” 

“ Ah! ” he sighed. “ See how hard a thing it is to sur¬ 
render one’s stubborn mind and will wholly to God. You 
yourself are the proof of it. Just see how you hold on to 
your pet plans and purposes when you might rest the 
whole weight of your life, yes, and of the world’s life, on the 
Infinite Soul.” 

Whereupon I asked him, “ How dost thou know when 
thou hast the guidance of God? ” 

He seized the question eagerly. “ Why, that’s easy,” he 
said. “ In the morning we just submit everything that may 
arise during the day to God. Then in the evening we 
know that what we’ve done was God’s will for us, and that 
what we haven’t done he didn’t plan for us to do. We 
never have any regrets or uncertainties. No sense of in¬ 
completion, no qualms about things done or left undone. 
Whatever is, is right to the man perfectly guided. It’s as 
simple as that. And yet millions of stiff-necked people will 
not see it. We’ve got hold of the thing that’s going to 
sweep and change the world.” 

He seemed to sink into a deep well of thought. “ What 
we really need, of course, is a God-guided dictator. Think 
what it would mean to the world if Mussolini surrendered 
to the control of God. Through such a man God could 
control a nation overnight, and solve every last bewildering 
problem. . . .Yes, every social problem could be solved 
through a God-controlled dictatorship.” 


I, YAHWEH 


3°6 

From this I understood that he sought not as did I for a 
prophet to lighten and guide the souls of men in free ad¬ 
venture toward the right, but rather for a strong man with 
power to drive the masses. 

He started to move away, pulling out his watch as he 
went. 

“ Wait,” I commanded, “ I was about to inquire whether 
the Groups themselves, in default of a Mussolini of the 
spirit, move toward any clearly visioned ends.” 

He thrust a printed slip into my hand. “ Why sure; 
we’re going places. Next month we’ll hold a series of 
house parties in the Middle West. Then we’ll be in Can¬ 
ada, and after that out on the coast. Here’s the itinerary. 
But I just can’t give you another second. I must bear my 
witness in the meeting. The distinguished member of the 
Lithuanian Chamber of Deputies will finish in two min¬ 
utes and a quarter. We run everything on exact schedule.” 

And he added ruefully: “ You made me miss his testi¬ 
mony. They tell me he was an intimate of Grand Duke 
Boris in the old days, and once had luncheon with the 
Gaekwar of Baroda.” 

I was about to leave the hotel when I beheld the man 
who had first spoken to me making a sign with his hand. 
His face had the hue of embarrassment. 

“ Say, partner,” he began hesitantly, “ please don’t get 
me wrong. I wouldn’t want you to think because of what 
I said a while ago that I’m against religion, or laughing at 
it. Not at all. I’ve been around a good deal and seen a 
lot in my day. And it’s like this about religion — I’ve 
seen fellows genuinely converted in churches and Sunday 
schools, in Billy’s tabernacle and Aimee’s temple and the 
Salvation Army. I even know a fellow who’s a lot better 
man because of something that he got hold of in one of 
these Groups. The way I look at it, there must be Some- 


JAZZ ON THE ALTAR STAIRS 307 

body or Something upstairs ” — he motioned heavenward 
with his thumb — “ who’s a lot bigger than any of their 
gods, so bighearted and kind that if a fellow’s in dead ear¬ 
nest, why he’ll help him. I don’t pretend to know any¬ 
thing about it, you understand, only I’ve got a hunch. 
But I just can’t see this god who’s dressed up like a head 
waiter, going around listening at keyholes in the bedroom 
doors, and taking orders and mapping out the day for every¬ 
body who’s too doggone lazy to grab life with both hands. 
That’s all I’ve got to say, partner. I just didn’t want you 
to get me wrong and maybe go sour on religion because of 
what I said. I got a lot of respect for religion, but hell, I 
don’t see after all that it’s getting us anywhere in particular 
these days.” 

I knew not how to answer him. But I went away from 
that place musing on all that I had seen and heard. And I 
said: 

“ Thou, Yahweh, in this day of thy bewilderment, dost 
seek a prophet, and findest the mountebank and the jester 
jangling their airs upon the nerves of men as on an ill- 
tuned harp. Yea, the erotic thou dost find, and the dilet¬ 
tante; the aesthete also who burnisheth the altar rail and the 
holy chalice that he may see therein the reflection of his own 
face; and the sycophant who fawneth upon the rich and 
mighty what time he doth seek to make his god an hewer 
of wood and a drawer of water. These do fill the world 
with their mumblings and sell their panaceas for a price. 
They antic before the innocents and bask in the admiration 
of the untutored. But they see not their own day in the 
procession of the ages, nor descry any noble destiny for 
the race. No vision do they show to men, neither set they 
any worthy tasks for their hands. None doth see thee in 
thy struggle to become God of all. Nay, but each danceth 


308 I, YAHWEH 

around the fetish that his own hands have made for the 
tribe that followeth him. And, like Aaron who set up 
the bull on the plain before Sinai, they cry to the people, 
‘ Behold thy God! ’ ” 

Wherefore I did understand why many just persons 
who felt the tragedy and yet read the promise in man’s 
existence excused themselves when my belfries tolled out 
their competing invitations to worship. 


XX 


FORESHADOWINGS OF CHANGE 


JlNlow I perceived that as I went about among certain 
loose-spoken men to whom the churches looked for guid¬ 
ance I was influenced by their graceless ways and was losing 
somewhat of the dignity proper to a god. For I saw some 
lift their brows, not troubling to hide their disdain of me, 
and I heard others whisper behind their hands, “ Behold 
Yahweh, how he dances to the jazz measure.” So did the 
ungodly mock my broken step when I essayed to walk with 
mountebank and charlatan to prove them whether they 
were prophets. 

Wherefore I said: “ Nay, Yahweh, it is not seemly for 
thee, the god, to give this occasion of offense. Henceforth 
remember thy majesty and forget not that thou art under 
bonds to the wise and good who have tutored thee. What 
though there arise no prophet to guide thee? Abide thy 
time patiently, holding fast to that which thou knowest 
from of old to be seemly.” 

And with respect to the past I had much to cherish. 
What other god had been whose certain remembrance be¬ 
gan with a high adventure undertaken in company with a 
man like to Abraham? Which of their number had in- 


309 







I, YAHWEH 


3 10 

spired bards like to my prophets who struck every major 
chord of man’s spirit to hear it echoed in the voice of their 
god? Or to whom among those worshiped of men had it 
been given to read the Galilean’s face? 

Now, it hath been said, and truly, that he who keepeth his 
past keepeth himself, forasmuch as memory is a means 
whereby one doth lay hold on his own being. By so striving 
to hold in clear and steady remembrance the elements of 
my former life did I fortify my sense of being one and whole. 

Nor did I lack scholars to uphold me through publishing 
anew the older teaching that I was no god of the passing 
day to be changed by the whims of every restless generation. 
These counseled their fellow men, saying, “ In this unstable 
time we do well to worship Yahweh under the aspect of his 
eternity and to regard ourselves as citizens of the timeless 
realm wherein he dwells.” 

Wherefore I admonished myself again: “ Order thy feet 
in a stately walk and let thine eye look toward the stars. It 
may be that thou canst cause men to lift their gaze above the 
works of their hand and to consider again the skies that 
yet glow with the light which gladdened thee in the fresh 
morning of thy days. So may man, though his fingers be 
busy with the putting together in hope and the tearing apart 
in despair of the elements of his material civilization, yet 
release his spirit to explore the immensities of the unseen 
world, its precious heritage.” 

And some I did persuade. 

But there is no wholeness of being for him who cannot 
continue the meaning of his past by a present employment 
that looketh toward the future. And I said: “ Alas, Yah¬ 
weh! for all thy recovery of the past, thou art a god without 
present purpose or hope for time to come.” 

Now, even while I studied how I might enlist men once 
more in striving after the higher ends which I envisioned I 


FORESHADOWINGS OF CHANGE 31 1 

saw that there were millions who would not walk with me 
at all. As if awaking from a sleep I saw that the world 
was changed. Whole nations were estranged from me. 
The people of Russia scorned me and they of Mexico re¬ 
fused to let the doors stand open in my churches. For their 
rulers said, “ We shall govern in the interest of the people 
without interference from the gods, because Yahweh who 
was our god has played us false.” 

These words troubled me. 

I knew not that I had played falsely with any people. 
And I sought anew for that which is deepest in the heart of 
man, that I might join myself to it. 

But as I went about in the places where Americans gath¬ 
ered, I found some grains of comfort, seeing that they who 
did me reverence were still so many. For as I wandered 
through their marts I saw the silver pass swiftly back and 
forth between the hand of the buyer and the hand of the 
seller, and I perceived that the coins were inscribed in mine 
honor: “ In Yahweh is our trust! ” I passed through their 
halls of government, and while the chosen leaders of the 
nation assembled therein I heard their priests seeking my 
favor: “ Yahweh, bless thou the work of our hands! ” I 
came where the final judgments of the law were handed 
down, and when the nine black-robed arbiters of fate moved 
to their places I heard a voice cry, “ May Yahweh preserve 
this honorable court and the people of the United States! ” 

Now it befell that on a day when I moved about in the 
land which thus acclaimed me, I saw that the feet of all men 
seemed turned in one direction, and though I knew not 
whither the people went, or why, I joined myself to them. 
And we came presently to a city whose broad avenues were 


I, YAHWEH 


312 

bedecked with flags and all manner of ensigns, while from 
every street there echoed the sound of martial music and the 
shouts of throngs fired with a spirit of exultation. 

And lo! the shame that had been brought upon me by 
reason of the jazz, and my forebodings by reason of the god¬ 
less nations, fled before the noise of festivity. Then did 
mine own spirit begin to lift as, long ago, it had lifted what 
time Gideon and his host blew upon their trumpets in the 
night when they slew the Midianites. When the sound 
of the warrior music smote mine ear I saw that my feet fell 
to marking its martial beat, and when the shouts of the 
crowd rent the air I joined my voice to their clamor. 

Of one who stood by I asked, “ What great occasion for 
rejoicing and the gathering of the hosts is this? ” 

“ Good God! ” he answered me. “ Where have you 
been? Why, it’s the annual convention and jamboree of 
the boys.” And when I asked him who were these boys 
he spake of, he said, “ The boys who went in and won the 
war when the Allies were down and out.” 

Whereupon I perceived that, of the numberless throng, 
the greater part wore the habiliments of warriors, and that 
there were many upon whose breasts hung ribbons and 
medals to testify to their valor. And I rejoiced to find my¬ 
self once more in the midst of a warrior host. Moved by 
the spirit of the multitude I went with confident step into 
a vast building whither the feet of those who acknowledged 
themselves heroes were tending. 

And I saw that flags fell from every girder and balcony, 
and the sound of voices was as the sound of many waters. 
But one voice was there that burst with a roar from all the 
walls at once: “ The convention will come to order. We 
will arise and stand at attention while the chaplain leads 
us in prayer.” 

Even as I wondered whether the chaplain would ad- 


FORESHADOWINGS OF CHANGE 313 

dress his prayer to me, his words came crashing like the 
voice of some mighty giant through all that place. I heard 
mine own name, and behold, it was as when I had been 
called in a former day by those who were my chosen peo¬ 
ple: 

“ We thank thee, O Yahweh, that we are not as other 
nations, coveters of territories not our own, fomenters of 
war, builders of unjust empire. We hold aloft the torch 
of truth, we furnish asylum for the oppressed, we grant 
equal opportunity to all, we are the unselfish benefactors 
of mankind. Alone among the nations, we have never 
waged an unjust war. We have clean hands. We are thy 
people, O Yahweh. Acknowledge us thy children, protect 
us from our enemies, and lead us in the day of battle.’' 

While I listened to this prayer which bound me so nar¬ 
rowly to a great people and offered me employment in 
matters near to the hearts of living heroes I repented me 
for that I had attended so closely to those who would turn 
my thoughts to the past. And I forgot my quest of a 
prophet. 

Now as I waited in that gathering of tried and tested 
warriors I heard many words which they spake and the 
shouts of approbation which greeted their speaking. And 
inclining their way, I shouted with the others. 

For there stood up one who cried: “ It is well enough to 
boast that Yahweh gave this land to our fathers. But we, 
their sons, must protect it from the enemy within our 
gates. Are we aware of the aliens who at this moment may 
be conspiring to take the very bread from our mouths and 
leave our children in want? We must close our doors 
against all strangers and build high walls to shut them out 
if we would keep for ourselves the good things that Yahweh 
has given to be ours alone. There is enough to provide us 
with ease and plenty, but we must watch over our sacred 


I, YAHWEH 


3*4 

inheritance. Let us guard our glorious institutions against 
alien contamination, and let us keep the untold riches of 
this land for ourselves and our children.” 

And when a voice demanded, “ Shall it be so? ” all the 
multitude thundered, “ Aye.” Nor was the encourage¬ 
ment of my voice wanting. 

And there came another who spoke: “ What fools we 
are! We talk of defending the country and we leave our¬ 
selves without the means to do it. This fair and wealthy 
land which Yahweh has given to us is a prize sought by all 
the envious nations of the earth, and we tempt their greed 
by our defenselessness. The day will come when they will 
marshal their armies and fleets and will darken the skies 
with their bombing squadrons, and if we are not prepared 
we shall be an easy prey. They will destroy our cities and 
ravish our women and grind our children into subjection. 
Americans! let us prepare! Let us build an army and a 
fleet and an air armada that shall be more mighty than 
those of any other land. Let us devote the greater part of 
our nation’s treasure to this purpose. Let us set every 
child in our schools to the study of the arts of warfare. 
And let us send our fleets abroad so that our ships may be 
seen in every port to put the fear of Yahweh into the hearts 
of peoples who may conspire against us and to show the 
nations that we intend to have our say about what goes on 
in the world.” 

Again a voice asked, “ Shall it be so? ” And all the mul¬ 
titude answered, “ Aye! ” And I joined with them. 

At the end, one stood up whose garments glittered with 
the credentials of his valor, and he demanded, “ How much 
longer shall we who have preserved this nation by our 
sacrifice go hungry in the midst of plenty? ” 

And his words troubled me, for the man did not look 
like to one who hath known hunger, neither did I see marks 


FORESHADOWINGS OF CHANGE 315 

of famine in any of those about me. But at his words 
there went up a shout. And he said, “ What is an un¬ 
grateful government giving us for our blood? ” And 
though many warriors cried, “ Shame! ” he glared about 
and continued: 

“ Look at the rich who idle in luxury, while we, who 
have known the bloody agony of battle, are in want. How 
long will this go on? Let us call upon the government to 
make us a fitting return for all our valor. Let us demand 
that, from this day forward, the wealth of the land be 
poured out to our advantage, so that the youth may know 
that this nation will leave nothing undone for those who 
fight its battles; so that the soldier, his wife and his children 
shall have the fat of the land, and be served forever by 
those who have not marched with the colors.” 

And before any voice could question there rose a 
shout which set all the flags in motion and echoed like 
the sound of thunder, “ Aye! ” And in that shout mine 
own voice joined. 

While yet the place trembled with the great noise of 
the shouting, I heard the sound of a trumpet blown with¬ 
out. And all the warriors hastened from the place, and I 
with them. Then I came to a broad avenue where the 
people stood, as many as could find a place along the side, 
and sat in stands which had been built above the walks 
and in the windows of the buildings along the way. And 
I found a place in the midst of the throng and heard once 
again the sound of martial music. 

And I looked where the multitude looked, and behold! 
a great forest of flags advancing in the sun. And as they 
whipped in the breeze and their colors gleamed, I felt that 
there was here some magic rite more moving than any 
which I had known. I bared my head, as did all those who 
stood about me. And as the music of the bands swelled 


I, YAHWEH 


3 l6 

and the tramp of marching feet filled mine ears and the 
flags passed in review before me, my feet began to tap 
lightly against the pavement in time with the feet of the 
marching men. 

And I wondered at that display of might. For the day 
mounted toward meridian and then passed into the after¬ 
noon, and the shadows of evening fell, but not once did 
the tide of marching heroes cease to flow. Never did the 
sound of the trumpet fail, nor the roll of the drums die 
away. And as I thought that these were the warriors of a 
land which had proclaimed me its god, I knew that I, 
Yahweh, was lord of a people surpassing all others in wealth 
and power. 

The sun sank and the night came on, and great beacons 
of light flared above the avenue. And in that strange 
illumination the blare of the music and the tramp¬ 
ing of feet did not abate. The flags, and the bands, 
and the ordered hosts continued to emerge from the dark¬ 
ness and to march for a space through the radiance of that 
light and then to pass again into the darkness. The spirit 
of the host seemed to lift me up and my feet tapped more 
and more insistently upon the roadway. Then there swept 
out of the darkness a company with banners and trumpets 
and drums like to the companies which had gone before. 
But I perceived that behind this company there marched 
no others; and I knew that it was the end of the procession 
of the nation’s warriors. 

And I lifted my voice in a last shout of approbation, and 
let my feet lead me where they would. So that, when the 
procession of the armed host passed in review before its 
commanders, lo! at the very end, rear guard to the flags and 
the trumpets and the drums and all the panoply of war, 
strode I, Yahweh, the nation’s god. 

Nor was there a prophet to turn my feet to other paths. 


FORESHADOWINGS OF CHANGE 317 


Thereafter I did call to mind again the words of Nannar, 
the moon-god, how he said, “ Let him who would be great¬ 
est among the gods find that which lieth deepest in the 
heart of man.” And I was forced to consider more search- 
ingly what long I had avoided — whether my universal 
godhead were a dream impossible to be realized. And I 
was disquieted. 

But as time passed, and I saw how like was the spirit of 
America to the jealous tribalism of Israel, I bethought me: 
“ Even should I be called to renounce the Christian hope 
of world-wide domain, yet would the mood of this Pilgrim 
people afford me room to be again the kind of god I was 
in Canaan. And on how grand a scale! ” But nay, the 
thought was unworthy of my godship. 

Yet when I took closer account of other nations the 
thought grew upon me. 

In Britain I beheld how the churches were adorned 
with statues erected in honor of mighty warriors whose 
sword had brought other peoples low and added glory to 
the nation, and how in a principal cathedral the colors of 
the companies that had won fame in battle had chapels 
all their own. My people were much given to singing in 
praise of the empire: “ God that made thee mighty, make 
thee mightier yet! ” Oft went I into Westminster Abbey 
to read from a stone let into the floor: 

Beneath this Stone Rests the Body 
OF A BRITISH WARRIOR 
brought home from France to lie among the most 
illustrious of the land and buried here on Ar¬ 
mistice Day, 11 November, 1920, in the presence 
of His Majesty King George V, his ministers of 


3 1 8 I, YAHWEH 

state, the chiefs of his forces, and a vast concourse 
of the nation. 

Thus are commemorated the many multitudes 
who during the Great War of 1914-1918 gave 
the most that man can give, life itself 
FOR GOD 

for King and country, for loved ones, home, and 
Empire, for the sacred cause of justice, and the 
freedom of the world. They buried him among 
the Kings because he had done good toward God 
and toward his house. 

I marked the reverence of them that stood round about 
and saw how deeply they were moved by the simple beauty 
of this memorial and by the eloquence of its phrases. And 
I was myself moved in the presence of the unknown heroic 
dead. 

But a thought that tended in another direction held me. 

“ This people doth link my name,” I said, “ with king 
and empire in a trinity whose ends are served by the grim 
rites of war. Their scholars and churchmen so read my 
nature that they make the shedding of man’s blood an act 
of good toward mine house. To them the house of their 
god is as the house of Windsor. And here in this stone 
they fear not to name me the consort of their imperialism.” 

Faintly through the nave sounded a distant chant: “ — 
as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world 
without end, Amen.” 

“ Yea,” I said, “ as in the beginning! This and all the 
nations of Christendom call on Father, Son and Holy 
Ghost, but their expectation is that Yahweh, the warlike 
and jealous god of Canaan, will answer them.” 

And I pondered this and what change in mine estate it 
might foreshadow. 


XXI 


WORD OF BELONGING 


1 n the early days when I was god in Palestine I learned 
to know a prophet by the authority of his summons and 
by the certainty that spake in his counsels. But never, even 
in those days, did I receive a call so peremptory as that 
which now came to me out of the land of the Teutons, nor 
instructions that sounded so completely sure. Yet these 
commands, for such they were, appeared to deny me attri¬ 
butes which I had come to regard as peculiarly mine own. 
Howbeit, I said, “ Mayhap it so seemed when mine elder 
prophets laid their plans newly before me, and I have but 
forgotten.” Nor did I refuse to hearken. 

It came about in this manner. 

A man of the German church, whose name has since 
become known by reason of his appointment to the office 
of bishop of the realm, bespake my presence during a crisis 
which promised, he said, either ill or great good for the 
cause of religion. And responding I found two men seated 
in a room of state, of whom one wore a soldier’s uniform 
and the other the habit of a cleric. 

And the cleric addressed me not of his own will, nor did 
the soldier address me save by indirection through his com¬ 
panion. 

3*9 






I, YAHWEH 


3*0 

“ To begin with,” said he, “ it is necessary that we make 
the Herrgott understand that I am a positive Christian. 
Than myself, Muller, there is not a more apt-to-hate-the- 
Jews man in all Germany — no, not in the whole world.” 

From the table he took up a thick volume, saying: “ In 
this much admired book I have written that in fighting the 
Jews I have been doing the work of the Herrgott; and 
again, that true religion must be intolerant; that not with 
building its own altars may it rest content. To destroy the 
altars of the heathen (of whom the Jews are the worst) is 
required of it by every consideration of churchmanship 
and statecraft. From my youth I have been the sworn 
enemy of atheism and Jewry. Let him who questions my 
devotion to Christianity prove otherwise.” 

He glared at me as if haply it might be I who should 
gainsay him, then instructed the cleric, “ Make a note of it 
that if the Herrgott seeks to take part in our councils he 
be required to read Alfred Rosenberg’s Protocol on the 
Elders of Zion and the Jewish World Politics 

Indignant that he should speak contemptuously of my 
first people, I said with some warmth: “ I shall enter no de¬ 
fense of the Jew. But what of that Christianity which you 
say you revere? A Christian by his profession commits 
himself to the loving of all men. He cannot hate the Jew 
or any.” 

But the soldier lifted his shoulders and spread forth his 
hands as one halted in argument by the unreason of his 
opponent. Then he pointed at me a finger that shook like 
a leaf on its branch, and holding me so, turned and said to 
his companion: “ You see! It is as I told you. The Herr¬ 
gott believes in abetting the survival of the unfit.” 

I shrank before the accusation of his finger. 

“ The Herrgott,” he continued, smiting upon the table, 
“is a victim of the soul-rotting Christian morality against 


WORD OF BELONGING 


3*1 

which Nietzsche wrote so cogently. Make of it a note that 
he be required to read also the works of that admirable 
scholar.” 

Now I had heard in Christian circles that Nietzsche was 
an eccentric who finished his days in a madhouse. And I 
so said. 

And the Reichsfiihrer, for so I understood the soldier 
was called, shouted: “ Tell the Herrgott that I resume my 
speaking. Tell him that at the moment of his interruption 
I was about to explain how the principles that originated 
in the inglorious period of the Hebrew prophets and later 
corrupted the world through the debilitating influence of 
Christianity have ruined him. His fostering of love for 
the enemy, which destroys the manly fiber of the soul; his 
doctrine of burden-bearing, employed by the weak to make 
a pack ass of the strong; his encouragement of self-sacrifice, 
his amiability toward everyone, are exemplifications of 
what the great Nietzsche has aptly called a ‘ slave moral¬ 
ity’ ” 

Then, making a great show of patience, he entreated the 
future Reichsbishop, “ Have the goodness, my friend, to 
ask the attention of the Herrgott.” 

Once more he faced me, and his taut figure gave me to 
think of some hero from the days when the men of the 
northern forests were not yet of my fold. And I considered 
whether there might not be a mystical force from without 
making use of him as its chosen instrument. For I be¬ 
thought me of what energies had blazed in the frail body of 
Paul. I let this thought have rein and, musing on this title 
of Reichsfiihrer by which he was called, I understood how 
his magnetism had drawn the German millions to him. 

Nevertheless, even while I admired the power of the man, 
I seemed also to look upon a day and place that antedated 
my clear memories of Ur. And I saw, locked on the dim 


I, YAHWEH 


322 

plains of that olden brutal world, hordes of manlike beings 
who were something less than men. 

Yet, though inly disturbed, I heard him when he spake 
again, “ You will make clear to the Herrgott that our 
business is not with the verdammt Jew, but with himself.” 

Whereupon he arose from the table, walked across the 
room, and for a moment stood facing a picture that showed 
him haranguing his troops. And now, noting his step and 
carriage, I could not but mark a confidence that set him 
apart from them who had but lately offered themselves to 
me as prophets. They were gropers in the dark; here was 
one who knew the way he took and would suffer no obsta¬ 
cles to stay him. 

And I bethought me: “ Mayhap a god’s continuance de¬ 
pends upon a nice sense of direction. That god surviveth 
long who taketh note when the currents of humanity are 
turned aside into new channels, nor doth he lack for fol¬ 
lowers who himself goes upon the stream that is in spate. 
It may be that the old order of things passeth and that the 
leaders of men no longer wear the prophet’s mantle or the 
saint’s shirt of hair, nor yet the gown of the scholar. And 
if we be come to an age when man will follow none but the 
willful, then only by giving his word for that same leader¬ 
ship can a god longer be companion of mankind.” 

And it was as though a voice spake clear to me: “ Cease 
thy vain search for a prophet, Yahweh, and claim the 
strength of this mighty man for thine own.” 

Wherefore, feeling that mine admiration of his personal 
force had reason, I yielded myself to it more fully; and 
when he spake again I marked that though his voice was 
harsh, yet there lingered a winning beauty in the overtones 
of its wrath. 

“ You will say, Muller, that not for the whole world 
given into my hand would I utter what might seem deroga- 


WORD OF BELONGING 323 

tory to the Herrgott. But regard for the interests in¬ 
trusted to my keeping demands that I use plain speech. 
Let the Herrgott take account of his godship and see 
what the softer strain of Christianity has done to him. 
Let him remember with shame how he cherishes the crip¬ 
pled, the flabby and the indigent; how since the late war 
he has countenanced a degenerate pacifism; how he has 
discredited the forthright manliness of the more heroic 
races, as here in Germany. Mention his deference to weep¬ 
ing, pleading women who have only a desire for security 
rather than a heroic spirit. He concerns himself too much 
about the home and conjugal relationships and the care 
of children. Too little does he promote the noble, tender 
love between heroes of the battlefield which characterized 
Julius Caesar and Frederick the Great.” 

He opened a drawer in his table, and though he spake 
not concerning them, I saw that under his hand were plans 
for new fortifications along the French border; and maps 
of the Ural mountains and the Ukraine, which pertained 
to Russia. And because I knew what was in his mind my 
hand twitched as once it had in the presence of Constan¬ 
tine. 

But when he lifted his head from the study of these 
papers and shook the virile lock that hung over his brow, 
he gazed on me blankly. And I liked not that this master¬ 
ful man could so soon forget me. 

Yet even as I would have departed he drew down his 
brow in a frown of recognition, saying: “ Muller, you will 
now try to make the Herrgott understand that the Will 
to Power is the most sublime of virtues, in default of which 
neither man nor nation is fit to live. It is the source of all 
individual and racial greatness. Remind him, Reichs- 
bishop, that he himself had it at one time.” 

Nay, in his presence there was no need that any remind 


I, YAHWEH 


324 

me of the brave days that once I had known in the company 
of the willful and strong. 

The cleric flushed with pride when the Leader called 
him “ Reichsbishop,” thus letting him know as if by acci¬ 
dent what was in store for him did he show himself apt in 
dealing with me. 

“You will ask the Herrgott whether he prefers the 
world of weaklings that he now has or the glorious world 
of heroes that he might have. Make it plain that the time 
for choosing has come; that he cannot be god of both the 
broken and the strong. It is forbidden. I forbid it.” 

He reached over and took Muller by the arm, and I 
winced as though myself felt the grip of his fingers. “Tell 
him that here in Germany our people, and especially our 
glorious youth, have waked to an appreciation of that mag¬ 
nificent primitive force which inheres in the Teutonic 
peoples and that they insist upon a god in whom they 
may recognize a force comparable to and transcending 
their own.” 

Now at an early point in his argument I had begun to 
see how the humanitarians had deceived me and had kept 
me from treading those paths of glory which my feet were 
naturally inclined to seek; how the ruin of my godhead had 
been wrought by doctrines urged upon me under the guise 
of idealism. And now I knew beyond peradventure that 
what I needed was not a prophet but a man who could 
make the world tremble. Wherefore I said, “ He shall be 
my captain and I shall be his God.” 

Yet, lest I seem weak and pliant and therefore not worth 
the winning, I did not submit without first attempting to 
introduce stipulations of mine own, arguing that if the vir¬ 
ile from all races were welded into a brotherhood we should 
soon have a kingdom of heaven on earth. But presently I 
perceived that I was becoming entangled in a web of ideal- 


WORD OF BELONGING 3^5 

ism. Nor did the Leader hesitate to make a gesture that 
bade me hold my peace. 

“ You see, Reichsbishop, the Herrgott is not merely 
incompetent in practice; he is also unsound in doctrine. 
Muller, the Herrgott does not comprehend the theory 
of Race! After dealing with nations for thousands of 
years, even after what Chamberlain has said about the 
Teuton, he does not comprehend the rudiments. It is 
amazing, Reichsbishop! It is impossible! But no! It is 
true. And why? Because so long has he been striving to 
construct a ‘ humanity * from highly differentiated races 
and polyglot peoples that he has grown blind to the very 
end and purpose of creation — Race.” 

His voice dropped to a solemn tone as he continued: 
“ Reichsbishop Muller, I lay on you a heavy charge. You 
will instruct the Herrgott in this matter of Race. You 
will convince him that all human greatness inheres in Race. 
You will show him, moreover, that races cannot be inter¬ 
mingled, the weak with the strong, without causing the 
strong to lose those characteristics which make them supe¬ 
rior. You will see to it that the Herrgott considers the 
Indo-Aryan peoples who were in the beginning endowed 
by nature with those qualities which make an ethnic 
stock vigorous. Have him observe how through admixture 
of other strains the virility of that once great stock has been 
destroyed so that today no one expects heroic action of the 
diluted blood.” 

He caressed the veins on the back of one hand with the 
fingers of the other. 

“ I would have the Herrgott understand,” said he, 
“ that there remains in the world only one pure-blooded 
racial stock that still preserves in itself all the elements 
necessary to the superior state. We of Germany are de¬ 
termined to keep that race free from alien taint, to the end 


I, YAHWEH 


326 

that we may achieve our sublime destiny and that the 
world of degenerate races may have a competent leader¬ 
ship — yes, a competent master.” 

I considered this theory, admiring its logic. Nor could 
I gainsay the historic reference that justified the reasoning. 
It would be unavailing, I knew, to attempt to express my 
thoughts, but the Leader must have read mine admiration, 
for he said: “ Now let the Herrgott know the object which 
I had in mind when I required his presence here. Put it 
in this manner, Reichsbishop: Throughout his career he 
has been concerned with the soul — which is good. But 
always it has been the individual soul; and that is bad. 
We now ask him to contemplate the Folk Soul, the most 
majestic conception in the universe. The Folk Soul finds 
its expression in the collective life of a pure-blooded race, 
in the common aspirations, the characteristic modes of 
thought, the artistic and philosophical pattern, the dis¬ 
tinctive institutions — in short, in the spirit which informs 
and directs the total life of a highly differentiated ethnic 
stock that has been kept free from crossbreeding.” 

So spake the Reichsfiihrer; and his eagerness to convince 
was not greater than mine to be convinced. For I now 
foresaw the flowering of that hope which once I had enter¬ 
tained, of raising up a great race from the loins of Abraham. 
Though not of Abraham’s fathering, here was a people 
such as I had dreamed of being god to — numerous, war¬ 
like and strong. And I knew that the Leader was about to 
offer its folk soul to be molded of me. 

But when I sought for words I could say only, “ This 
thy thought is most sublime.” 

Yet this sufficed. The Leader lifted his brows, nodded 
slowly to the Reichsbishop, and said: “It is as you fore¬ 
told, Muller. The Herrgott is apt to learn.” 


WORD OF BELONGING 327 

And now for the first time he addressed me, not through 
the cleric, but directly: 

“ Attend, Herrgott. The Folk Soul, like the soul of 
the individual, must have an organism through which to 
work its will. That organism is the Folk State, which is 
coeval with the Folk Soul as is a man’s body with his spirit. 
And just as the body cannot live if it be dismembered, the 
Folk State cannot live unless its component parts make a 
totality. . . . Does he follow me, Reichsbishop? ” 

Muller nodded. “ I think so, Reichsfiihrer.” 

“ . . . Hence we have in Germany the totalitarian state, 
which does not exist by suffrage of the people but as a 
primal, mystical entity, embodying and controlling every 
interest and expression of the people’s life — industry, 
commerce, education, arts, sciences, the family, religion! 

“ Now, Herrgott, religion is one of the principal inter¬ 
ests of the people, the church one of their strongest and 
most characteristic institutions. Church and religion must 
lend themselves completely to the ends of the totalitarian 
state or cease altogether to exist. I, the voice of the Folk 
Soul, demand this of you.” 

When I gave him as favorable a reply as I thought con¬ 
sistent with my majesty, promising to think on the matter, 
he sprang erect. And though I shrank before the threat 
of anger in his face and posture, yet was I drawn the more 
strongly by this new sign of his unreserved commitment to 
a purpose. 

For the putting forth of his will, terrible to behold, the 
hot raging of his consecrated energies, were to me a fore¬ 
cast of decisive action that proclaimed him more than a 
prophet. The age of halting persuasion was past; the day 
of ringing command and swift-striking power had returned 
in the person of this man. The way was open for me to 


I, YAHWEH 


328 

become what I had been of old time, god and defender of 
one people only, bound to them by mutual jealousy. Once 
I had been simple, direct, had known the fierce joy of 
matching my will and might against the might and will of 
others. I had been proprietary god of the tribe, owning 
my people frankly and gladly owned of them. All this 
would I be again. 

But the Leader was speaking: “ Think? ” he cried 
thickly. “Who will think when I have spoken? It is to do; 
not to think.” 

The Reichsbishop took him timidly by the arm and 
timidly spake: “It is the Herrgott, my Reichsfiihrer; 
remember it is the Herrgott whom millions in Germany 
worship. You must not so speak to him. Moreover, I 
think the Herrgott will concede all you ask.” 

But albeit wrath had so taken toll of his strength that he 
sank upon a chair, the Reichsfiihrer abated no whit of his 
purpose, but said: 

“ Then let the Herrgott understand that he has not a 
clear field, that there are many who demand that we adopt 
as a symbol of our totalitarian state one of the old folk 
deities, a hardy god of the ancient forest cult, an aboriginal 
Teuton, a fighter out of the folk literature who will stand 
with Germany against the world, whose worship will en¬ 
courage the German spirit, one who will make no apology 
for being a strictly national god. What embarrassment I 
shall suffer from the fact that the Herrgott was once a 
Jew! But I can face it provided the Herrgott will now 
consent to declare himself an exclusive Reichs-Christian; 
for there is much to be said in favor of establishing as the 
national cult a religion which has shown the survival val¬ 
ues that Christianity has. Its deficiency in point of teach¬ 
ings can easily be corrected.” 

And after a pause that was more meaningful than fur- 



WORD OF BELONGING 


3*9 

ther speech could have been, he added, “ I know that so 
prudent a one as the Herrgott will choose wisely for Ger¬ 
many and himself.” 

On that word we exchanged our pledges, his to permit 
my presence in the land, mine to be ever worthy of this 
confidence. 

Whereafter, wiping the sweat from his brow, he said, 
“ Muller, you may now give the Herrgott our word-of- 
belonging.” 

And the Reichsbishop, speaking softly lest any hear, 
gave me this password: 

“Blood and Soil” 

As wings for my remembrance were these words from 
other days. Through the windows came the fragrance of 
the trees. But I saw not lindens growing between the 
pavements. Nay. Ranks of olive trees shouldered one 
another on a gentle hill, cedars clung to their crag above 
the valley, date palms rimmed the pool, and the rose of 
Sharon stood by the brook where fat kine muzzled the 
water and the flocks came down to drink. I heard not the 
noise of traffic, but the ram’s horn blown from the housetop; 
and the sound of it invoked a nobler music — the song of 
arrows in flight, the ring of iron swords. 

“ Reichsbishop,” said I, taking care to address him 
only, “ three thousand years ago I was god of the soil and 
protector of the chosen blood. And though in ages since, 
when prophet and Christian teacher led me forth on alien 
roads in quest of universal godship, I have ofttimes been 
recreant to blood and soil, thy mention of the words doth 
bear me away to mine own land and people. Yet not away. 
For a great light hath dawned on me whereby I now see 
clearly that the Reichsfiihrer is a Jew — a Jew like my 
people of ancient times. And ye Germans are all Jews, 
despite that ye persecute Israel after the flesh. Aye, in 


I, YAHWEH 


330 

point of tribal spirit and in hatred of them who possess 
what ye covet, ye differ no whit from my Hebrew tribes¬ 
men who took Canaan by the edge of the sword and wor¬ 
shiped me with blood sacrifice. Ye belong to Yahweh by 
spiritual inheritance. And by land and blood, ye shall 
have no other god before me! ” 

When the Queen of Sheba enjoyed Solomon’s hospi¬ 
tality and the king’s liberal affections were thought not 
to suffer hurt of her dusky charms; when the black Cyre- 
nian relieved Christ of his cross; when Candace’s Ethiopian 
eunuch took the footsore evangelist Philip into his sump¬ 
tuous chariot — I had not learned to make distinction 
among men of differing skins. 

But in course of time certain peoples of the Western 
world had stolen the black man to be their slave, even as 
the Romans had made the fair-haired Angles their especial 
prey, so that blackness of skin had come to stand for 
servitude. 

Moreover, the white man had carried my torch with 
his own books of account into the homelands of black 
and brown and yellow races, striving ever to make himself 
master where he went. And as between master and slave, 
empire and dependencies, I, despite missionary attempts 
to make me universal God, had learned to think of myself 
as god of the white folk in particular. Yet I spread the 
banquet of salvation under the eaves of trading posts and 
beneath the ramparts of garrison houses and bade the 
heathen partake freely of that spiritual food which made 
their conquerors strong. And not a few did eat. 

Then did I answer the prayers of Asian, African and 
Polynesian, while still knowing myself to be god of the 
Western world, an intruder in alien parts. 


WORD OF BELONGING 


331 

Thus it came to pass that I gave ear in Manchuria to the 
representations of a Chinese Christian community that 
made complaint of Japan. 

And seeing the Christians harried by Japanese soldiery, 
I inquired of the chief officer by what right he troubled 
the people. 

The officer took no offense but spake me fair, saying: 
“ Let me assure the Honorable One of the West that we 
punish only those who defy our just and necessary edicts 
and obstruct measures adopted solely for the good of this 
unthankful land, in obedience to the will of our gracious 
master.” 

And when I asked what good ends the intruders intended 
toward a country not their own, he again chose gracious 
words for his reply: “ We have come. Illustrious One, that 
a disordered nation may be taught to respect the ordered 
ways by which alone may be made to flourish that fair 
tree of civilization which is as the pine of heaven to the 
people of my celestial home as it is to the Honorable West. 
We Japanese, by virtue of the proficiency that we have 
attained in the Western arts of peace and war, are the 
rightful guardians of order in the Eastern world. And 
though the Occident has seen fit to discriminate against 
our race, we know that we are of the celestial blood and 
fit to stand on a parity with Western empires.” 

Hearing such fair words spoken by one whose appear¬ 
ance stamped him plainly with the seal of competency, 
I pressed for knowledge of his land and customs, and es¬ 
pecially of that master whom he served. 

And he said: “ Our Master is heaven-born. He is in 
the lineage of the sun-goddess, whose home on the high 
plain of heaven is shrouded in the pearly mists that gather 
over the mountains of the Sunrise Isles. This ancestral 
goddess and all the Kami of earth and heaven long ago 
breathed their own valor into the Samurai, that class of 


I, YAHWEH 


332 

estimable warriors who through many generations carved 
out the channels of our national life with the sword. And 
even now we who accept our responsibility of subduing the 
Eastern hemisphere look to goddess and Kami for courage 
in battle, trusting that they will grant us a manly death 
on the field or in the sea, and after the hero-death a wel¬ 
come through the gates of the sun. Because we know that 
in our blood runs the heavenly strain, we ask of life no 
better gift than the right to lay it down in some brave 
act that will heighten the prestige and extend the rule of 
our celestial land.” 

And he added: “ If the Illustrious One of the West will 
permit one unworthy as myself to express it, the gods of 
the Occident and Orient differ but little in what I take 
to be their principal function. I am impressed, Revered 
One, that all gods make it their business to encourage 
their peoples in subduing the earth.” 

His glowing eyes looked at me aslant. And he said, 
“ I think it would be very nice if gods of East and West 
should some day measure their swords to the honor of 
all concerned.” 

So speaking, he bowed with a courtesy that made this 
forecast of strife seem a very benediction. And I, brood¬ 
ing on the misty mountains whereof he had spoken, thought 
of the giving of the law from cloud-wrapped Sinai. And 
I considered: “ Could a branch of my far-wandering Is¬ 
raelites have peopled these isles in some forgotten time? 
Do mount and cloud enshrine a dim racial memory of me? ” 

I studied the officer closely, thinking first that I saw the 
trace of Hebrew traits in his features; then that there 
were none. 

Nevertheless, Paul’s great word sounded anew in mine 
ear: “ The true Israel is of the spirit rather than of the 
flesh.” And I saw how the apostle, albeit he missed the 


WORD OF BELONGING 


333 

sense in which it was true, had nonetheless spoken by the 
facts. These Japanese, boast as they might about their 
vague goddess of the sun, belonged once to Yahweh by 
indissoluble bonds of spiritual kinship. 

And I would have addressed the officer in those other 
words of Paul which he spake to the Athenians: “ The 
god whom ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you,” 
had he not given his resting troop the signal to fall in, 
thus forcing me to await some more convenient season. 
And he, unwittingly doing obeisance to his rightful god, 
smiled again, bowed, and departed. 


“ Make haste to deliver me, O God of Battles,” a voice 
cried urgently from the land that lies round about the upper 
reaches of the Nile. “ I am thy chosen and anointed, the 
paladin of Christianity in its purest form and the Lion of 
the Tribe of Judah.” 

He was a black man who thus cried, and though I saw 
that his features were cast in the Semitic mold, I inquired 
if haply he had misread his lineage and derived not from 
Abraham, but rather from Noah through Ham, the father 
of the black race. 

But he answered: “ Nay, I and my house are of the 
holy and royal blood, being descended directly from Father 
Abraham through Solomon the Wise. And my people are 
stout warriors who have bathed their swords in heaven, 
as the prophet said. If not for us, for whom then wilt 
thou contend? Arise and smite as of old for the land and 
blood that are holy. Deliver the children of the covenant 
from him of Italy who would rule us as once the Caesars 
ruled with heavy hand in Palestine.” 

Now I liked well the archaic flavor of his speech and 


I, YAHWEH 


334 

the pride that spake in his frank claim to Israelitish an¬ 
cestry. But when I saw how few were his men at arms, 
and how ill equipped, I doubted how he might come off 
in contest with Italy. 

Wherefore I said: “ Thou sayest, my son, that thou art 
the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The zeal of thy pretension 
is pleasing to me. Do but prove thy lionhood by making 
a jackal of this Roman, and I will own thee and thy people 
mine, despite that ye are few in number and inglorious 
among the nations.” 

And lo, while his plea yet rang in mine ear the united 
prayers of ten thousand priests called me into Italy where, 
in the chamber of a high ecclesiastic, I found a black- 
shirted man striding impatiently up and down. And this 
one spake to the prelate in a voice whose accent of military 
command borrowed a further authority from the round 
tone of the orator: 

“ It is my will that tomorrow at this hour you cause 
the carillon in every campanile and the bell of every parish 
church throughout Italy to be rung for the purpose of 
calling the patriots of each town into the plaza. There 
shall they hear by means of a national broadcast an oration 
of benediction and farewell which I shall deliver to my 
heroic troops before they embark for Africa, where they 
go to punish the barbarous blacks and to extend the felicity 
of our civilization to a people whose own rulers keep them 
in a state of inhuman slavery. Since the people of my land 
were the first to give to Christianity the imperial aspect, 
it is fitting that the priestly hand be laid to the bell rope 
when once again a Roman studies to obtain imperium.” 

His mention of empire led me to ask if he thought 
in terms of blood and soil. And he answered: “ The 
Italian land and blood are sacred, assuredly. But Empire! 
It is an ideal, ah! of the utmost sacredness and of inspiring 


WORD OF BELONGING 


335 

majesty. It is order, rule, glory. It is of the essence of 
Roman tradition. Italian blood first, certainly. But any 
blood can fertilize the seed of the imperial ideal; any land 
can widen the imperial domain. For what is Empire? 
It is a matter of imposing an intelligent and indomitable 
purpose; of making ideals, customs and orderly process 
regnant everywhere over backward peoples. It is the 
Caesarean program of extending one just and competent 
system of government to the farthest possible reach for 
the felicity of governed and governor alike. Ah yes, for 
the governed especially, I assure you. It is economy, it 
is magnificence, it is universality. It is the system by 
which a minimum of force achieves the maximum of 
freedom and happiness. In brief, it is the method of the 
cosmos itself.” 

On the morrow the priests pulled on the bell ropes, 
and I with them. For did not the Holy Father himself 
permit the bells of the Vatican City to join their conse¬ 
crated peal to the general summons? 

Then, while the clamor filled the land, I drew near 
to where the militant one stood on the podium before the 
instrument that was to catch his burning words and scatter 
them abroad. With closed eyes and smiling mouth he 
swayed on the platform as one under a spell. And I thought 
how like he was to my captains of the long ago who danced 
before me ere they went out to battle, and again when they 
returned victorious. 

I looked on the tossing throng. I saw their palms 
raised above their heads in the imperial salute. I heard 
the hoarse shouts of war-eager men and women’s shrill 
cries of encouragement. The sound of them was as the 
hearth-fire songs of childhood heard when one has grown 
old in a country that was never home. And well content 
I yielded to these rhythms of primitive emotion. Nor 


I, YAHWEH 


336 

did I ask how he might judge this abandon whose image 
was on the altars beneath the bells. 

When the last peal died the Leader flung his sword arm 
upward in salute to campanile and tower. “ Brava, brava” 
he cried. “ It was magnificent, my priests.” 

And though afterwards certain of the ungodly did wink 
and say, “ So this Yahweh has become carillonier of em¬ 
pire and ringer of the bell to II Duce,” I minded them not 
for joy that another mighty nation had stripped off the 
musty cerements of Christianity and revealed my primal 
godship for its people to worship. 

And I said: “ These Italians — are they not also Jews? ” 


Now, the Reichsfiihrer had said, “ I shall bend this 
Jewish Yahweh to my Nordic will or cast him out,” and 
II Duce, knowing the power that I had in Italy of old time, 
had thought to entice me with the prospect of empire like 
to that which I had shared with Constantine. And I had 
thought it expedient to deal agreeably with them. 

And there came up from the people of Britain a great 
prayer which bade my attendance at the crowning of their 
king. And I was constrained to answer them also agreeably. 

For the rulers of Britain had always shown how courte¬ 
ous may be a nation’s dealing with its god. The British 
in their vast emprise neither seek to coerce me nor deem 
it needful that they practice cajolery. They say with sim¬ 
ple trust, “ Our ways are the ways of Yahweh and our 
thoughts are his thoughts. Wheresoever our interest lead, 
there doth his blessing follow. For as the heavens are high 
above the earth, so for right and justice are the ends which 
our empire seeks high above the ends sought by lesser 
breeds without the law.” Yea, one of their lords did once 


WORD OF BELONGING 337 

contend that his god was a gentleman, by which saying he 
did mean that I was an Englishman by disposition and 
procedure. 

Now the prayers which bade me to the coronation per¬ 
plexed me, for, having seen common men rise to supreme 
power in the German and Italian lands, I supposed that 
the day of kings had gone with the prophets’ day. But 
when I inquired on this head, they that bore the rule in 
Britain answered: “ It is not so with us. Our empire is 
scattered over the face of the whole earth, and the parts 
thereof tend to divide. Wherefore we do well to have a 
consecrated symbol of our unity, a sovereign begotten 
royally according to divine appointment, one in whom, 
also, we may discern the earthly defender of our English 
church. He it is who binds the people together and 
strengthens their will to maintain our just supremacy 
among the nations.” 

And even they that owned not allegiance to any god, 
neither revered any creed, said, “ An odor mystical and, as 
it were, divine emanates still from the institution of roy¬ 
alty and gives cosmic sanction to our imperial enterprise.” 

Hearing these professions, I went obediently to the great 
Abbey of Westminster where the oil of anointing, the 
crown and the holy vestments were prepared against the 
coronation. And as I passed through the land I beheld 
that everywhere they that wrought at the making of ships 
and the fashioning of all the implements of war, as never 
before men had wrought, stayed their hands briefly from 
labor and confessed, “ We are workers together with the 
heavenly and the earthly majesties for the defense of 
empire.” After which they fell to work again with the 
greater industry. 

Now when I came nigh to the abbey church I beheld 
the streets and open spaces thereabout thronged with peo- 


I, YAHWEH 


338 

pie. And along the ways hung cloth and lace of gold, the 
flags imperial and territorial, the banners of ducal houses 
and the pennons of knights-at-arms. And I saw flowing 
toward the great portal of the fane a splendid river of 
satin and velvet, brocaded stuffs and costly laces, ermine 
without price and jewels that burned with the sun of every 
clime, a living stream that moved through the blaze of 
color like a salamander in a lake of flame. And behold, 
it was a river of people — brewers and distillers, makers 
of munitions, purveyors of drugs, lenders of money and 
traders on Exchange, with here and there scions of ancient 
houses whose founders had risen to power in the days 
when England was yet little among the nations — peers 
of the realm, all of them, or men high in the councils of 
state or church. And their consorts were with them. 

All being seated within the holy house, there came an¬ 
other procession of lords secular and lords spiritual, more 
splendid yet, with whom walked the king and the queen. 

Then while the anthem swelled through the nave the 
voice of the common folk arose from every quarter of the 
land in a great confession: “ Our hope is in the empire that 
it will save us. For it shall furnish our food from afar, and 
God, even our own God, will clothe us from the ends of the 
earth/’ 

And while I watched within the abbey, the archbishop 
showed the king unto the chief men of the nation, who, 
seeing him, cried, “ Long live the king! ” Which thing 
being done, the archbishop gave forth the word that in¬ 
troduced the communion; and the lords spiritual laid the 
elements of Body and Blood upon the holy altar. And 
while Body and Blood waited lonely upon the altar the 
archbishop anointed the king with holy oil — his breast, 
his palms, his head. 

Then came one who touched the king’s heels with the 


WORD OF BELONGING 339 

golden spurs and afterward laid the spurs nigh to the paten 
and the chalice on the altar. 

Close upon the rite of the spurs came a puissant lord 
bearing the great Sword of State which, having been shown 
to the people, was carried into the chapel of St. Edward. 
And the lord who had borne the Sword of State received 
in lieu thereof from the lord chamberlain another sword 
which he delivered unto the archbishop. And the arch¬ 
bishop laid it reverently upon the altar, where the gleam 
of it vied with the shining of the chalice of the Blood. And 
lo, when the sword touched the altar I heard a voice cry 
out as though the Eucharist itself were wounded. And the 
voice said, “ Father, they know not what they do! ” 

But I answered, albeit none of those standing about 
heard: “ Nay, they know well what they do. And I also 
know.” And from beneath the altar, as from souls in a 
prison house, arose a cry, “ How long, O Father most holy, 
shall we be slain of the sword? ” 

But the archbishop heard not the plaint from beneath 
the altar, nor yet the prayer of the Eucharist which it made 
by reason of the nearness of the sword, for he lifted a prayer 
of his own, saying, “ Hear our prayers, O Lord, we be¬ 
seech thee, and so direct and support thy servant the king 
who is now to be girt with this sword, that he may not 
bear it in vain; but may use it as the minister of God for 
the terror and punishment of evildoers, and for the pro¬ 
tection and encouragement of those that do well, through 
Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

And the archbishop took the sword from the altar; and 
I beheld that it gleamed redly as from the Blood of the 
chalice. But the Blood that was on the sword they saw 
not, neither the bishops nor the people. And he girded 
the king with the reddened sword. And he bade him bear 
his sword worthily in the name of the Lord Jesus. 


340 I, YAHWEH 

Then the king ungirded himself of the sword and pre¬ 
sented it before the altar. Afterward the lord who had 
first tendered the sword received it again at the hand of the 
dean of the abbey. And he carried it naked before the 
king. 

Now I little marked the sword wherewith the king had 
been girded, for my thought followed the great Sword of 
State that went not to the altar but was carried apart from 
priest and people as though too holy for more than the 
brief touch of their eyes. Wherefore, yearning toward 
this so great symbol of majesty, I went after it into 
St. Edward’s Chapel. And lo, the chapel was filled with 
men-at-arms whom I knew not, but knew that once I 
had known them. And, while all made obeisance to me, 
one of them led me to a scarlet altar whereof the people 
in the abbey were not aware. There he girded me with 
the great Sword of State that I now saw had been reserved 
even from the king for my use. And when I looked about 
to scan those who had dealt in so knightly a manner with 
me, if perchance I might recall their names and degrees to 
bless them, there was no man present. Wherefore I re¬ 
turned to the abbey; and I bore my sword naked before 
the king. And when I observed the king resplendent in 
his royal garments I laughed within me, albeit not with¬ 
out shame, for that I had once expected world domain 
from him whom they hanged naked on the cross. 

While we waited the homage of the lords, both the king 
and I, Yahweh, the archbishop blessed the king, saying, 
“ The Lord give you fruitful lands and healthful seasons; 
victorious fleets and armies, and a quiet empire.” Hear¬ 
ing which blessing, I stretched forth my sword above the 
crown that was on the king’s head in gesture of protection. 

So standing, I looked and saw that a shaft of light fell 
upon the abbey wall that was before me. And it wrote as 


WORD OF BELONGING 341 

once the hand had written at Belshazzar’s feast. And I 
knew not the language in which it wrote, for it was like 
to none on earth. Yet I felt no disquietude, for that I drew 
assurance from the king, the great company of lords secular 
and lords spiritual, the brewers and makers of munitions, 
the purveyors of all things material, in whom I saw the 
strength and stay of empire. Especially was I assured by 
the Sword of State that was in my hand. 

And I pondered again the prayer of him who praised 
me for that I was an English gentleman, and I said, “Nay, 
but these Englishmen, they are also my Jews.” 


XXII 


BACK TO THE BEGINNING 


1 now gave myself to reflection. 

“ Thou, Yahweh,” I mused, “ didst begin with a petty 
warlike tribe; and in this age thou hast many martial na¬ 
tions. It is because thou hast been a wise and subtle god. 
When thou didst turn from Moses to Joshua on the plain 
before the mount thou didst espouse that which ever 
liveth in the soul of man — the love of power. And now 
that thou hast rejected the universalism of the Galilean 
thou art again allied with force. Thou hast attained the 
only inclusive and continuous domain within reach of 
a god who would be companion to the human spirit. Thy 
universality lieth and ever must lie in the world-wide and 
timeless realm of fear and distrust. Thine own subtlety 
that chooseth to run with the passions of men’s hearts hath 
won for thee that general acceptance which neither prophet 
nor Christ could give. Henceforth thou canst watch the 
divided tribes of Christendom and not rebuke their war- 
rings. It is well, for thou thyself dost live by division of 
the sword. Rejoice! While man is man thou art Yahweh.” 

But even while I so spake there came to me a disquiet¬ 
ing question: “ How canst thou fulfill thy pledges to the 

342 






BACK TO THE BEGINNING 343 

many nations to which thou hast bound thyself as special 
and partisan god? ” 

Nevertheless the question found its own grim answer, 
which I have told no man. Nor shall I reveal it until the 
time of fulfillment be come. . . . 

But after being god four thousand years I could not 
immediately free myself of those influences from the past 
that had molded me. Thus, even in the nations that were 
most forward to make war, there were men and women who 
continually spake of what things the Galilean had taught 
and of how he had died on the cross to accomplish the 
redemption of the world from the cruelty of its sins. And 
these did vex and weaken me. Wherefore I thought, “ I 
am old and weary and the godlike enterprise which I 
have resolved to promote among the nations may perchance 
be more than I can compass.” 

And I said: “ I will return for a season to the goodly 
land whence I came and refresh myself amid the scenes 
of my youth. There shall I renew my strength in behold¬ 
ing again the ancient fields of my valor.” 


In pursuance of this new purpose I soon thereafter 
joined myself to a party of Zionists who went into Pales¬ 
tine to build them a national home. And I heard them 
say among themselves: “ Yahweh, who has been our spe¬ 
cial god from the beginning, will cherish us here in our 
former land; and we shall perfect our particular culture 
and make it honorable among all peoples. Yea, Yahweh 
will lift us high among the nations, and from Jerusalem 
shall the law again be spoken.” 

The year was at the springing when we came into 
the Holy Land. And I felt as in my youth that an inscru- 


I, YAHWEH 


344 

table presence trod the earth on errands whose import 
would be for the joy of gods and men could they but 
discover it. 

But immediately I scorned my mood, saying: “ Will 
Yahweh be found again among the prophets or among 
the poets whose fancies would make the world and man 
other than they are? Nay! All that have I left behind me.” 

There came a night when I climbed a little hill. And 
looking on the moon I was moved by remembrance of the 
man Abraham who, because he saw a footprint on its disk, 
chose me to be his god. 

Now while I climbed I knew not what hill it was, but 
at the top I knew that it was the hill Calvary. Wherefore 
I thought on him who had suffered there, his broken body 
and disappointed hopes. His memory became as a pres¬ 
ence round about, and I spake as to one who might yet 
hear: “ Beautiful wert thou, O Galilean. But thy peasant 
faith and the soft philosophy whereby thou didst for a 
time win my favor were out of tune with that will to 
strife which is eternal in the nature of man. Today thou 
wouldst find no throngs to hearken to thee, nay, thou 
couldst not persuade even twelve. Long wast thou in thy 
dying; but now men at last pay thee the rites of the trouble¬ 
some dead, speaking thy words by rote, without heed or in¬ 
tention to obey. But I, Yahweh, whom thou didst misname 
and reject, live still and in my hand is authority over the 
nations.” 

Then, in that place where no man was, I seemed to hear 
a voice and it called me by name. 

" Yahweh! ” 

I know not what manner of voice to say it was — whether 
uttered low in mine ear and rolled back upon the heavens 


BACK TO THE BEGINNING 345 

in mighty echo, or whether faintly spoken in the sky to 
crash in mine ear like thunder. 

Yet, because of the place and my preoccupation, I said: 
“ This is no new summons but only the past. Why should 
it make me to tremble? ” And I answered: “Nay, Gali¬ 
lean; trouble me not. Thou art only a memory. I saw 
dead upon the cross the man thou wert, and there is 
nought left of him but a pale wraith cherished by the 
priests of a church who now deceive themselves as they 
have long deceived the Western world. Thou and thy 
‘ Father * no more live than the tree on which ye both did 
die — thou a man and he the dream of a man. But I, Yah- 
weh, live, and all the nations of the earth and the power 
of them are mine.” 

Then the voice spake again, and at the sound of its 
speaking I was stricken to the ground, for it was as if the 
earth reeled in its orbit. 

And the voice said, “ The kingdoms of the world are 
thine for a season. But my judgments are eternal.” 

Then I asked, “ Who art thou? ” 

And though my words sounded fainter than a whisper, 
yet the answer came: “ I am thy judge. And shouldst thou 
climb even to heaven to escape me, yet would I bring thee 
down. Yea, shouldst thou hide thyself in hell, yet would 
I call thee thence. For thou shalt not escape thy reckon¬ 
ing with me. Wherefore stand upon thy feet, for I will 
judge thee.” 

I arose, and would have turned my face to this dread 
majesty, but could not, since the voice showed no visible 
presence; nor did it come from this side or that, but it 
thundered on every side and from within. Wherefore I 
said, “ Tell me thy name and station, that I may know 
if thou art indeed judge over me.” 

And the voice made answer, “ I have no name, and thou 
dost usurp my station.” 


346 I, YAHWEH 

And I besought further, “ Show me, then, who thou 
art.” 

And the voice said: “ I am he whom thou pretendest 
to be. Before the world was, I am; and I shall be when the 
heavens are no more. Before man was, I am; for it was 
I who fashioned him. As to thee, Yahweh, thou art but 
man’s image of God, the shadow cast by his aspiration 
toward me. It was I that put it into the heart of Abraham 
to leave his kindred and take thee, Yahweh, into a strange 
land and make thee a god of righteousness. It was I that 
sent prophets to Israel to enlarge thy compassion. And at 
the last I gave thee the Galilean that in the light that shone 
upon his face thine eyes might see me. It was I that moved 
Paul to take thee from the soil and race that were thine 
and cause thee to point unto me not one people but all 
the world. Of thyself thou didst try for a season to reflect 
the glory of my universal fatherhood. Now dost thou 
turn aside, pretending to be God thyself. Wherefore in 
thee man’s hopes and dreams stop short of their fulfillment. 

“Nay, more, because thou hast not kept thy face turned 
toward me, that through thee man might ever see beyond, 
but hast turned thy face toward man alone, thou hast 
ceased to be the image of his aspirations and hast become 
the idol of his ignorance and lust for power, thereby per¬ 
verting his dreams to his own destruction. 

“ Know thou that there is a place in the soul of man 
which I have reserved for myself, which forever remaineth 
empty until I fill it. Thou, Yahweh, knowest not this 
secret place, nor canst thou find it, nor finding it couldst 
thou enter in, since it is kept for me alone. But thou hast 
closed the door of man’s soul so that even I cannot enter. 
For this shall I judge thee.” 

Then made I my defense, saying, “ If men because of 
me have closed their hearts against thee, why dost thou 


BACK TO THE BEGINNING 347 

not draw more near and show thyself openly and speak 
truth to men that they may no more seek counsel of a 
terrestrial god? ” 

And the voice said: “ Then would I be Yahweh, and not 
God. I am nearer to man than his own soul. And because 
he seeth me not for my nearness, I showed myself to him 
in the face of him they hanged upon the tree. And not 
upon his face only, but upon all men does my compassion 
shine, though they know it not. I am the Father of whom 
the Galilean spake. And because I am Father of all, I 
am Judge to thee. And because I would save man I will 
bring thee to thine end.” 

Now when the voice so named the Galilean who had 
embarrassed my divinity through the ages, I was seized 
with godly wrath for that I had stopped to parry with an 
illusion. And the sources of my strength were opened, 
and I cried aloud: “ Begone! This that I hear is but the 
lingering memory of him who died in this place.” 

And the voice troubled me no more. 

And while my strength was mounting, behold, I was 
surrounded by a great company of the elder gods, and I 
questioned whether these, also, had come to oppose me. 

But one of them, that was clad in the Roman armor, 
said, “ Mars has slain his millions, but Yahweh his tens of 
millions.” 

So saying, he dropped on his knee and, holding his 
battered sword by the blade, pressed the hilt of it against my 
palm. And as Antaeus drew strength from the ground 
when he wrestled with Hercules, so did I from the hilt of 
the sword. 

Then the fair-haired Thor bowed himself humbly and 


348 I, YAHWEH 

said: “ Greater than Thor is Yahweh. I threw the hammer 
to defend mine own, but Yahweh spews the poison gas and 
hurls the secret forces of nature against all his children 
equally when they contend. There is none like to him 
among the gods.” 

And the wily Marduk, he that was god in Babylon long 
ere I embraced the cause of Abraham, gave his meed of 
praise: “ Aye, there is none like to Yahweh who knoweth 
where is every cord of holy emotion in the human heart 
and can tune it to the drum beat and the trumpet call. 
Also he hath abundant wisdom to justify both sides of 
every cause.” 

There was one among them that was goddess of the sun 
that rose over the misty mountains of the Sunrise Isles. 
And she professed: “ Without benefit of consort, by an 
inexhaustible parthenogenesis, I bring forth an endless pro¬ 
cession of warring Kami. Might I but look on the honor¬ 
able face of Yahweh from time to time, I might fill the 
earth with my breed.” 

Then gods and goddesses pledged themselves, their 
powers, their hates, their peoples, to me for what uses 1 
might have of them. For they said, “ We are but children 
before the great god of the West.” 


And I descended the hill. But although strength seemed 
to flow into all my members, yet was my tread not firm. 
And I met a young man, of whom I asked, “ Didst thou 
hear aught? ” 

“ I heard the morning wind in the mulberry trees.” 

“ Sawest thou anything? ” 

“ I saw the sun come up.” 

“ My son, wilt thou do for me a kindness? ” I asked. 


BACK TO THE BEGINNING 349 

“ I tremble and cannot command myself, by reason, I think, 
of an excess of power that has come upon me.” 

He looked on me keenly and gave assent. 

“ On the other side of this little valley,” I told him, 
" there was in olden time a ruin, and at the far end of it, 
well concealed, a cave let into the earth, whose mouth was 
covered by a slab of stone. Enter this cave, I pray thee, 
look well about, and return and tell me whether there is 
aught within.” 

He went, and returned, saying: “ I found the ruin and 
the cave, and within the cave a great wooden chest, broken, 
and overlaid with a metal which resembles gold, and in the 
chest a heap of moldered earth, an ancient parchment, and 
something that looked like a branch of a tree. But when 
I took hold of the scroll of parchment and the branch 
they crumbled into dust.” 

“ It is well,” I said. “ What thou hast called a chest 
was once my throne; and it shall be again. Lost to men 
these hundred generations, both Jew and Christian have 
vainly sought it. But I, Yahweh, have known the place of 
its concealment.” 

The youth looked on me with wide eyes and moved 
hastily away. But I beckoned to him and said: “Nay, 
fear me not. I am one to be trusted; all the world cometh 
after me. And I am also wise and subtle, yea, more wise 
than the statesmen who mumble in the privy chamber, 
or the priests before the altar, or the preacher who drones 
in the pulpit; for of them all none knoweth whither he 
goeth. But I know, and I know, also, whither I lead the 
peoples of earth.” 

I took hold upon his arm and drew him into the path. 
And while he walked by my side through the valley I asked: 
“ Is not thy name called Abraham? Yea, methinks Abra¬ 
ham is thy name. Did we not walk here once before, my 


I, YAHWEH 


350 

son? But there was that about earth and sky which now I 
miss. I know not what it was. Canst thou tell me? Nay, 
thou sayest? It grieveth me sore, for I would know what 
aspect of things it is that I have lost.” 

And I chided the young man: “ Speak not now, Amos, 
for I hear a voice that cometh from afar, from the utter¬ 
most depth of the pit, and though it soundeth very nigh 
me, I cannot hear what it saith for thy much speaking.” 

And I was grieved because the youth sought to avoid 
me. Wherefore I said: “ I will wait in the temple until 
thou be come, my son. Though thou didst misname me, 
I will await thee. And surely thou wilt seek me after a 
little. There is that which I would ask thee when we meet 
anon.” 

Then I laid hold upon his arm again and reasoned with 
him, saying: “ Mark me now, Paul, and be warned of folly. 
There was once a young man, goodly and worthy to be 
loved, save that he was a fool. For he spake of equity and 
wrought righteousness and died for love. Yet he knew not 
that he was a fool. But the wisdom of this age doth judge 
him. Thou knowest, and I, and all the world knoweth 
that these matters whereof he spake be foolishness. Yea, 
and also that peace among men which he advised; it is the 
dream of a fool.” 

And as we approached the mouth of the cave I spake him 
fair, for that he was emperor. And I said: “ Delay not 
to deliver the sword to me, Constantine my son. And if 
Tertullianus dispute thee stop his mouth, for I will suffer 
no division of my forces. See that there be no rust on the 
blade, and remove the cross from the hilt of it, I pray thee, 
for it rests uneasy in mine hand. It may be that I shall not 
go out to the battle, forasmuch as I am called into Galilee 
by reason of one who troubleth the people with his teach¬ 
ing of a god who is father to all men and nations. But 








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